Can't Be Dreamers
by moviemaniac12
Summary: !MAFIA AU When you're in one of the most notorious Mafia gangs in New York, they only tell you one thing. Do not love anyone, or they will be taken from you. Mobster Arthur, forgets this rule. A story of love, hate,and three piece suits.
1. Chapter 1

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION.**

**Hi readers! So, prior to the making of this story, I developed a lot of research into this. It was an idea I was really interested in a while ago, but I didn't really know how to go about doing it. I really hope you enjoy and review! I was kind of going for a very Godfather-esq/ mafia theme.**

Arthur walked along the streets of New York, scuffing his perfectly shined shows along the dirty sidewalk. He considered his position in the world. After all, we're all put here for a purpose. Arthur thought about Heaven and Hell, about God, about the Law, and more importantly, about where he lay in all that. He'd been told many times that his soul wasn't worth saving anymore.

He guessed, that because he was one of the most notorious criminals in New York, part of one of the most exclusive and well known (and feared) mafia gangs in the city, that his soul was most defiantly not worth saving. He accepted that a long time ago. After the killings started, after the cops started watching them non-stop, and after he lost everything he knew, that everything went downhill for him.

He looked up and saw the lights of the bars overhead flickering. He loved New York. The city that never sleeps/ After all, they were living in the 1940's, one of the greatest centuries in history.

A honk behind him brought him out of his thoughts and back into the streets. He looked next to him and saw a black car pull up beside him. He slowed his pace and became a lot more aware of the revolver in his pocket.

"Oi! Arthur!"

He looked into the drivers window and saw Eames pocking his head out. Trying to focus on driving and talking at the same time.

"Are you going to get in? Or shall we throw you to the sharks?"

Arthur rolled his eyes and hopped in the door, and patted the seat in front of him. "Thanks for the pick up."

Eames looked at him from the rear-view mirror. "Yeah, well Cobb's not going to be happy if we're late,. He also won't be happy if you get shot."

"Thanks for your concern."

Arthur and Eames never really got along, but the rule was, stick together and watch out for each other. Arthur first met Eames a few years after he started working with Cobb. His thick British accent and cocky attitude made him a stick out on the streets. Meanwhile, Arthur had a more subtle attitude with the slightest hint of a New York accent. If one thing was for sure, they were both shit good mobsters.

Eames pulled the car to a stop and let himself out. Arthur stepped out and looked around him. "Who's playing tonight?"

Eames shrugged as they walked towards the front entrance. "Who cares. As long as they have enough drinks and pretty ladies, I'm satisfied."

They both walked in and gave the doorman a quick nod. They followed down the hallway and came towards a man who was sauntering around by another door. He looked them up and down.

"Cobb?" he asked.

Arthur nodded. The man instantly opened the door and allowed them through. The room was instantly filled with music and smoke and the thick smell of alcohol. Admittedly, they did turn a few heads as they walked in. Eames shrugged off his coat and looked around him.

Arthur did the same and admired the scenery. Same place every night, sometimes even the same people. But each night it was people dressed to the nines, smoking and drinking and having a good night. If they were lucky, nothing funny would go down. But this being their regular spot, more often than none, they ran into trouble here. The burgundy walls never peeled, and the lights were always the same. Dimply lit, with lots of dark corners for dark deeds. The only thing brightly lit was the stage, filled with jazz players and often glamorous singers.

Eames shoved his arm slightly. "Over there."

Arthur followed him over to the row of booths. Eames slid into one and nodded to the persona already sitting at the table. Arthur slid in next and held up his hand for two drinks. He looked at the figure.

"You alright, Cobb?" he asked.

Cobb nodded slowly. "For now." He looked at the drinks that appeared before Arthur and Eames. "Don't drink too much boys, we've got a visitor any moment now."

Arthur mentally moaned. So much for an easy night.

"Who is it?" he asked, swirling his drink around in his hand.

Cobb kept his eyes on the table. "Fischer."

Eames swallowed. "What are they coming here for? They know this is on our turf."

"Yeah well, they need a little reminding of that recently," Cobb sighed. He looked up and met Arthur's eyes quickly.

Arthur sighed. Cobb was one of his best friends, even though they never showed it. He remembered when his eyes used to be a light blue, so full of light and promise. Now they were grey, and heartless. Ever since Mal died, Cobb had never been the same. Mal and Cobb met in this very bar, she as a jazz singer, he as a bartender. Those were simpler, light-hearted days, as opposed to now when it was all guns and violence.

Eames nodded. "Yeah well, your guest has arrived."

Arthur looked up as Robert Fischer Jr walked in. His father used to be one of the most terrifying mobsters around. After he was murdered, Fischer assumed it was one of Cobb's. He's been searching for revenge ever since He was also related to Peter Browning. One big mafia family.

He was followed by his little pets, Nash and James. Arthur never did like that Nash guy. As he moved closer, he could see people growing more unnerves, wishing they hadn't come out on this night. He stood over the table and stared down at Cobb.

"Cobb. Thanks for the invite," he mumbled.

Cobb stood up and straightened his tie. "Thanks for coming. We do have some…business to discuss."

Fischer nodded. Cobb motioned for Arthur to move. he was find with it, he didn't particularly feel up for anything tonight. He moved out and gave Nash a quick glance before heading over to the bar. He walked over and took a seat, taking a look behind him. Fischer was now sat down, opposite Eames and Cobb, listening to Cobb's complaints.

After a moment, Arthur turned back around and ordered a scotch. He swallowed down a sip and cringed at the sour feeling in the back of his throat. He stared down into the glass.

"Let me go."

He listened to the conversation next to him. Probably a couple getting a bit too rowdy.

"Come on, sweetie, just 5 minutes…"

"No thank you, please let me go."

He lifted his head up and looked over to the voices next to him. He blinked.

The first thing that took his breath away was the girl. She was sat on a few bar stools away from him, legs crossed, exposing the tiniest flash of garter. His eyes followed up her legs, along the curves of her black dress, along every dent in her jewellery until he reached her face. He took in her features, he full, red lips, her long eyelashes and her big brown eyes. He stared at her for a few moments before drawing his attention to her source of distress.

"I'm telling you again, get the hell away from me," she demanded, pushing her arm out. Arthur looked at the man in front of her, drunk obviously, drawing a little too close for his liking. The girl tried to push him away, but he was persistent, pushing himself back into her.

Arthur frowned and swivelled his chair around. "Hey, buddy."

The drunk guy looked around and snorted when he saw Arthur. "What?"

Arthur furrowed his brow. "The lady said no."

The guy snorted. "Why don't you mind your own business," he slurred. He leaned forward to the girl again and grabbed hold of her arm.

Arthur placed his drink down on the table and stood up, moving over to them. "The lady said no." he repeated. "I'm going to give you one last chance. Leave her alone and go."

The man rolled his eyes. "Who do you think you are, pal?"

Arthur pulled open his jacket open slightly so his gun was slightly visible. He looked into the man's eyes, who was now more focused.

"I'm the guy who's going to blow your brains out if you don't leave her alone, right now."


	2. Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION.**

**Wow. One chapter and eight reviews! Thank you so much! It's nice to know that you like this story. I think it was a good idea, and I jumped at the chance to claim it! As someone pointed out in my last chapter, I got the tense mixed up a bit near the end, so that's now fixed. If there are every any mistakes like that again, please feel free to point them out!**

**P.S Thanks to Zip (I would PM but it won't let me) for all the suggestions. I will certainly keep an eye out for grammer/tenses ect, in the future!**

**Enjoy!**

The man blinked at the weapon in Arthur's jacket. His eyes flashed back up to Arthur's stony expression and widened in recondition. Obviously he had seen the pictures in the newspaper. Who hadn't?

"Um, look man, I don't want any trouble," he stuttered, stumbling backwards.

Arthur let his jacket fall, whilst keeping his eyes on the drunk. "Then you'll leave right now. If you value your life at all, you won't come back."

The man shakily nodded and hurried away, leaving Arthur fully satisfied with his ability to intimidate people. He turned to the girl and tilted his head forward slightly.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yeah. Thanks." She eyes him cautiously and ended up looking at the floor.

Arthur smiled ever so slightly. "No problem." He took in her expression, and realised that she was trying to avoid his eyes. He sighed. "Look, I know who I am, but I won't try anything." He held his hands up in front of him. "I promise."

She nodded and kept her gaze on the floor. "Ok."

He swiftly moved into the bar stool next to her. "What's your name?"

She shifted in her seat slightly. "Ariadne," she mumbled quietly.

He raised an eyebrow. "Is there a last name that goes with that?"

She remained quiet, leading Arthur to sigh in frustration. This girl was going to be tough. He pulled his drink over from his original spot and took a swallow. Ariadne looked over and watched him drink.

"I saw you when you came in," she admitted. "I'm sorry, but it's common knowledge that nobody's supposed to talk to…."

"The mafia?"

"Yeah."

He nodded. "That's good advice." He turned to her and slipped in a small smirk. "But you seem like a rule breaker."

She coughed slightly from discomfort. "Possibly"

He shrugged and turned back to his drink. He glanced behind him again to where Cobb and Eames were sitting with Fischer. He sighed and decided his fun was over. He looked at Ariadne again.

"Well Miss Ariadne, it was a pleasure," he smiled. "Keep out of trouble."

She nodded. "Thanks again."

"No problem," he said, moving out of his seat. He paused in mid air. "Oh and, don't tell anyone you talked to me," he added, slightly more seriously than that of their previous conversation. "That's one rule you should keep."

He didn't stay to hear her response, he simply moved quickly back to Cobb's table, slyly slipping past between the crowds of people, enjoying the music. When he reached the booth, Arthur slipped behind Cobb and straightened his tie. He'd obviously come back at the right time.

Fischer chuckled and shook his head. "Look Cobb, all I'm asking for is a little respect here."

Cobb tapped his fingers on the table. "You'll get my respect when you earn it."

Fischer's head snapped up. "I'm not a patient man, Cobb. I expect my demands to be met."

"Then stay the hell away from our streets."

"They're not yours, Cobb," Fischer muttered. "Just give up. Leave them to us."

"Go piss in a hole," Eames mumbled. Fischer glared at him.

"Look, we're going to take whatever streets we want. You don't like it, then go and screw it."

Cobb sighed and placed both his hands on the table. "Look Fischer, all I know is that at least 4 times last week, my boys saw your boys in Main street, 5th Avenue and Downtown. Those are our areas. I'm gonna tell you once, back off or loose half your gang."

Fischer leaned back and swallowed. "I can see this is going to be difficult. I was so hoping we'd come to an agreement."

Cobb smirked. "Stop trying to fill your Daddy's shoes kid, it ain't happening."

Fischer clenched his jaw and curled his fist simultaneously. Arthur's eyes narrowed as he saw Nash's hand slip quickly into his jacket. Arthur did the same and collected a firm grasp on his own gun. Eames soon had his hand on his own without taking his eyes off the men in front of him.

Cobb furrowed his brow and shook his head. "Alright, alright, keep it calm boys. People are out here for a good time tonight."

Fischer nodded and Nash reluctantly took his hand out of his pocket. Arthur and Eames returned to their original stance. They exchanged glances while Fischer sighed.

"I do miss this place. I used to come here every night…" he looked at Cobb. "Your wife was quite the singer."

Cobb's teeth gritted. Arthur mentally groaned as Fischer smiled. He hit a raw nerve and he knew it.

Fischer shrugged. "She was good at a few other things too, if you know what I mean."

Cobb stood up quickly and towered over him. Arthur drew his gun as he noticed Nash pulling out his own. Eames yanked out his, ignoring the sudden looks of the other bar occupants. Arthur pointed his barrel right towards Fischer. Just one word from Cobb and Fischer would be on the floor.

Fischer stood up calmly and rolled his shoulders. "Well boys, I don't think we're welcome anymore."

Cobb kept his clenched fist on the table. "No, you're not. Leave Fischer. I'm warning you, if we see any of your gang on our streets, you can kiss 'em goodbye."

Fischer paused before walking away. "Believe me," he said, turning to face Cobb again. "You really don't want to deal with those consequences. "

He walked away,. If he was smart, he'd be out of these streets within the hour. The other occupants to become decidedly calmer, returning to their drinks and chat. The music quickly picked up again, as Arthur sighed. God, if there was a bomb, these people would still want their god damn jazz.

Eames relaxed his posture and glanced at Cobb. "One word Cobb, I swear."

Cobb shook his head and straightened himself, gaining his composure. "Not Fischer. The way to destroy him is to pick 'em off one by one."

Eames nodded and straightened his jacket, whilst Arthur stared at Cobb. "You sure you're alright, boss?"

Cobb nodded and turned to Eames. "Get the car. I have to make a visit to someone."

Eames nodded and quickly disappeared out the back door. Arthur handed Cobb his coat and hat. "Miles?"

Cobb nodded. Arthur should have guessed. He always sought him out whenever there was more unfortunate business with Fischer. Miles was the original mobster. He'd single handily taken down 5 gangs in his day, including an entire mafia family. Arthur had only met him twice, but boy did he respect him. Not because he was a nice guy or anything, but because if you didn't, then you would die within the half hour. Arthur knew that Cobb paid him regular visits, seeking help and advice, but Miles was old now, and didn't get into the violence much.

Cobb looked at Arthur. "Eames giving you a ride home?"

Arthur shook his head. "Nah, I think I'll walk tonight."

Cobb furrowed his brow. "I want you to get a ride. Tonight's gonna be rough, and I don't want my best man getting shot just 'cause he wanted a little fresh air."

Arthur nodded, defeated. "Fine. I'll get him to pick me up later."

Cobb raised his eyebrows and let his eyes shift around the bar quickly. "Later? Hoping to pick up a little something for yourself?" he smirked.

"Possibly," Arthur sighed. "We'll see how the night goes."

"Well, good luck to you," Cobb mumbled. "Have a good night." He started moving towards the front entrance, but turned quickly. "Hey, Arthur?"

"Yeah?"

Cobb's face became a little more grave. "If you see any of Fischer's men…being them to me."

Arthur nodded and gave a small wave to Cobb, who disappeared as quickly as he came. He placed his hands in his pant pockets and stared at the stage for a moment. He remembered seeing Mal there, countless times, each one with Cobb, who would watch her proudly. Mal loved Eames and Arthur, and never really approved of their work.

"Oh Mal," Arthur breathed to himself. "What would you say if you saw us now…"

**Oh my goodness, I love writing this! I got so into this, and I absolutely LOVE writing Cobb and Arthur as gangs of the mafia. Cobb would make an awesome crime boss. (Can't stop picturing his New York accent in Shutter Island.)**

**Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inception.**

**This isn't a very exiting chapter, but it's kind of an introduction to Mile's character. Watching The Godfather as I write, so I may get very…into it.**

**Can I also point out, that I spent around half an hour on Wikipedia today, learning all the mafia lingo and rules ect. So most of this is genuine. Review please! It's really nice seeing all the feedback!**

Cobb watched out of the window as the car pulled up outside the house. Obviously large, surrounded by trees, gates, anything to keep it hidden. Cobb continued to stare for a moment before hearing Eames turn the engine off.

"Need me to wait, boss?" he asked, leaning back in the seat.

Cobb shook his head. "No thanks, you go home."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Go ahead, have a nice night."

Eames grinned. "Wow, thanks. Let me know if you need anything."

"Yeah yeah, get out of here."

Cobb slid out of the car as patted it on the roof. Eames drove away, leaving him standing in the gravelled entrance. He pulled his coat around himself tighter, feeling the night chill. After giving up for a moment, he started walking towards the gates. He took a second to admire the architecture of the house, but he wasn't surprised. Miles had great taste. He pressed down on the call button on the speaker box and waited for the buzz.

"_Hello?" _The fuzzy voice on the other end asked.

Cobb cleared his throat. "This is Dominic Cobb, I'm here to speak to the Don."

"_Hold on a minute."_

Cobb tapped his feet in the dark and waited for the voice to return.

"_Come in."_

The gates beeped and Cobb pushed them open quickly. He made is way up to the house and made sure to straighten his tie and check his shoes for dirt. When he arrived at the door, one of Miles's men were there, waiting impatiently for him.

"Again, Cobb?" he asked into the air. "Can't keep control of your town?"

Cobb ignored him and walked right into the house. He made his way down the hall and kept his eyes down. The man walked in front of him and stood outside a large wooden door. He knocked on the surface and waited.

"Come in."

He gestured for Cobb to walk in. Cobb inhaled and took off his hat before entering. He walked into the room and shut the door behind him. He looked up and saw Miles standing in front of him, arms open.

"Cobb," he smiled. "Nice to see you again." He gestured to the large couch opposite his desk. "Drink?"

Cobb shook his head. "No, thanks."

"Suit yourself," Miles shrugged.

Cobb sat down and clasped his hands together. He took a second to stare at the old man in front of him. Sure he was retired, but the man hadn't lost his touch. He was still as respected and feared since the day he started.

"So, what can I do for you?" Miles asked, pouring himself out a glass of whiskey.

Cobb sighed. "I'm at a loss with Fischer. He keeps on intruding on my streets, he's making deals with our associates, for Christ sakes, I nearly lost one of my men last week in a shoot out! Right in the middle of Berkley Street! "

Miles nodded. "I see. Well, what is it you want me to do?"

"I don't know," Cobb sighed. "I just…I want him gone."

"Well Cobb, I can't do that for you. I'm retired."

"I know…"

"This is your issue, not mine." Miles turned to the window and cleared his throat. "Look, there's only one piece of advice I can give you."

Cobb looked up. "Yeah?"

"Don't ever let him see you weak. Or that'll be the end of you, your gang and your legacy." He turned back and looked Cobb directly in the eye, something that made Cobb very uncomfortable. "Get your best men, on patrol. Arthur's a good one, so is Eames. Get them downtown. Fischer needs to know that you mean business."

"So you're saying, spread ourselves out?"

Miles nodded. "Exactly. These things don't just happen over night. They take planning and training."

Cobb nodded. "I know."

He turned to Cobb. "How are you planning on getting home?"

"I'm not. I let Eames go home early."

Miles raised an eyebrow. "Don't go soft on them. You're their boss, not their friend." He sighed deeply. "I'll get two of my people to escort you home."

"Thank you, Don."

Miles smiled. "For the 100th time, call me Miles. We've known each other too long."


	4. Chapter 4

**Overall I have watched, The Godfather, The Departed, Chicago and Shutter Island (but that was mainly just for Leo) in order to prepare for writing this. Wow, it's so sad the amount of fun I'm having.**

Arthur sighed and looked down into his drink. He had been waiting for hours, and he hadn't even caught a glance of Ariadne. Maybe she had gone home, but truthfully, he was a little frustrated. Mostly, women threw themselves at him, but this one…she was different. Almost reluctant. He was determined to see her again.

Looking at his watch, he realised that Eames would be coming to pick him up soon. He mentally whined, missing the days where he could simply walk down the streets and not have to worry about attacks or gangs or…you know, dying.

He gave quick acknowledgement to the bartender and decided to leave. He walked out the back entrance, not bothering to have to endure with the stares of unnerved people. He pushed open the fire escape and started making a quick pace up the small steps. He shivered when he realised how cold it was. He buttoned up his coat and shoved his hands into his pockets.

The steam from the nearest man-hole was flowing over the ground, making Arthur feel like he was in some crime movie.

"Hi."

He spun around and went into alert mode. He quickly relaxed when he saw who it was.

"Hi," he replied, straightening his shoulders back.

Ariadne was leaning against the brick wall, legs crossed. She stared at the floor intently. "Um, I was hoping you'd come out."

"Well…I'm here now."

"Yeah."

She looked up and met his eyes for only a second. "I feel like I owe you a proper thank you. For what you did earlier. Most people just ignore stuff like that."

Arthur held up one hand. "Really, don't worry about it."

She tugged up one corner of her lips in a small, lopsided smile. She held out her hand, finding her confidence. "Ariadne Peterson."

Arthur grasped her hand in his and shook it politely. "Arthur Falcone."

"I know." She looked down at their hands which he realised were still connected. He pulled away gently, and placed his hand back in his pocket.

"So, may I ask why that ass was bothering you?" he said, looking behind his shoulder.

She quickly looked down at the floor and folded her arms over. "No."

He smirked.. "Fair enough." He found himself attracted to her stubbornness. He suddenly thought about what she was wearing under that coat…

"What was that about?"

He blinked. "Sorry?"

"What was that about?" she repeated. "In the bar. Those men?"

"Oh," he breathed. "Right." He inhaled. "I'd like to tell you…but then I'd have to kill you."

Ariadne stiffened, and her eyes widened, much to Arthur's amusement.

He chuckled to himself. "Ariadne, I'm kidding. But seriously, I can't tell you. I really shouldn't…" He trailed of and found his eyes narrowing.

What was he doing? He was trailing around after girls whilst their streets were being terrorised by a competing mafia. Not only was he putting himself in danger, but he was putting Ariadne in the extremes as well.

"I really shouldn't…be talking to you at all," he sighed. "Look, I should go. Have a good night."

Ariadne stared at him. "Oh…ok. You too."

Arthur quickly walked away and didn't look back. He felt a tinge of guilt for dismissing himself so quickly, but for both of their sake's, it would be better if they didn't talk again.

He didn't want to wait for Eames, so he started walking anyway, ignoring the sounds of passing cabs and music seeping from various bars and clubs.

"Arthur!"

Arthur spun around and quickly ducked his head.

A man ran up to him, frantic and tired looking. "Arthur! We've been looking all over for you! Where the hell have you been?" he hissed, grabbing Arthur's arm and ducking into the nearest ally.

Arthur shrugged his arm off. "I was in the bar, waiting for Eames, geez."

The man frowned. "Eames won't be picking you up. We have to go, now."

Arthur took in the man's frantic expression and watched as he stared at him with stony eyes. "What's wrong?"

The man panted from running, but inhaled deeply. "It's Tony."

Arthur paused. "What's wrong with him? Did he get shot or something?"

"Arthur. He's dead."


	5. Chapter 5

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inception. Swearing in this chapter. Ye be warned. (Yes, that is my pirate impression.)**

* * *

The car ride back to the warehouse had been silent. Cobb valued the privacy of the team greatly, so Arthur had never been surprised when he learned they would be working in a dingy downtown warehouse. Eames hadn't said anything about the news just given. Not that Arthur was desperate for details. All that mattered at that point, was that someone was dead.

Their team was made up of 6 men. Each one was perfectly qualified in their own ability, (not that you needed qualifications to be in the mafia), and Cobb had personally picked each one based on trust and talent. Arthur got along with most of them, because when you spend a large amount of time with a group of people, you really have no choice of whether you like each other or not. It just makes the job easier.

The only one Arthur had his doubts about was a cocky piece of work- Michael. Arthur found him to be far too eager. Like he would jump at the chance to be Cobb's number two. For this exact reason, Arthur was always watching his back. The others however, were perfectly tolerable to Arthur. His personal favourite was a young man, Joey. He was fairly new, and rememinded Arthur of when he first started. So he took care in always making sure to watch him. Another, was Rick. A little too like Eames for Arthur's taste, but none the less, a nice guy. Then Mickey, a little smartass. And of course, there was Frank and Tony. The two brothers.

Now there was only one.

As Arthur sat on one of the rusted chairs, he tapped his fingers excessively on the table top, which was stained with alcohol and cigarette butts. He looked up to the door.

"Michael, are they here yet? Cobb's gonna -"

"Relax, they're here."

Arthur watched as Michael opened the door. Eames walking in, tired looking and tense. Arthur's gaze fell on the younger man next to him, Frank. Arthur sighed to himself.

"Eames, where the fuck have you been?"

Eames shot him a look. "Well it took me a while to find this one," he said gesturing to the nervous man next to him. "Then we had to go around Times Square to avoid any…confrontation."

Arthur stood up. "Frank, Cobb wants you in his office."

Frank stiffened suddenly. "Have I done something wrong? I mean, I was on patrol all night-"

"It's fine. He just needs to talk to you," he reassured.

Frank nodded, whilst looking at the others. "Where's Tony? He here yet?"

Eames looked at the floor. Arthur saw the others take their awkward glances at each other. He placed a light hand on his shoulder.

"Just talk to Cobb, Frank."

As the younger man quickly made his way to Cobb's office, Arthur followed him and watched as he knocked nervously on the door.

"Come on."

Arthur gave the younger man a sympathetic gaze before watching him disappear into the next room. He hovered outside the door for a moment until he felt a hand on his back.

"You alright?"

Arthur nodded and shrugged the arm off his shoulder. "Get off me Eames. I'm not in the mood."

"Well none of us are," Eames shrugged. "Anyways, wanna hear something interesting?"

Arthur sighed and nodded slowly. Eames smirked.

"I heard that one of Fischer's guys…Nash I think, was going down to main street tomorrow."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "What? Does he want his head blown off?"

Eames chuckled. "He's going down for some drug deal to pick up some stuff.. Rick and I were gonna head him off. You in?"

"Eames…"

"Come on Arthur!" Eames begged. "I know you'd love to shoot him in the face."

Arthur nodded. "…Alright."

"Tomorrow at noon." Eames gave him one last look before walking away, satisfied.

"Geez," Arthur sighed to himself. He looked up and saw Mickey walking over to him, almost as if he had some big proposal. The froze as the sound of shattering glass filled the air.

Arthur snapped his head around to the door of Cobb's office, which slammed open. He watched as Frank stormed out, a tired Cobb following him calmly. Frank headed towards the door, as Cobb looked at Arthur.

"Grab him," he snapped.

Arthur quickly took hold of the younger man's shoulders, holding him back. He held on tightly as Frank started to thrash around angrily.

"I swear to god Arthur, let me know or I'll blow your head off," he growled.

Arthur looked at Cobb, who simply sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Look Frank, you have to calm down-"

"He killed my brother! He killed him!" Frank cried. "I want to get him back! Let me go!"

Arthur shook his head. "You can't go out in pure revenge."

Cobb folded his arms across his chest. "You're not doing anything to Fischer or his gang. End of conversation."

"Go fuck yourself!" Frank spat. The others in the room simply stared at the scene before them. "I have to do something! You can't tell me what I can and can't do!"

Cobb set his face in stone and walked over to him. Arthur stiffened as Cobb leaned into Frank's face. "If you value your life, you'll do exactly what I say," he hissed. "You can go out there, try and get them back and be killed, or you can stay here and live. Either way, I'm your boss and you will listen to me."

Frank breathed heavily, disgusted. "You are ridiculous."

Arthur narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip. "Easy, man…"

"No, let him finish," Cobb said.

"You think you're so tough, playing soldiers with us. You don't realise the consequences of your actions. My brother is dead. I need to do something about it. Just because you're lonely and a bastard doesn't mean I need to be!"

Arthur frowned and looked at Cobb, who was staring down at Frank.

Cobb motioned behind him. "Eames. Gun."

Eames blinked. "Um…Cobb…"

"Now."

Eames quickly handed him his concealed weapon and stepped back. Arthur stared at Cobb, praying to god that he wouldn't do something stupid. He stiffened as Cobb approached and toyed with the gun in his hand.

"Frank, I've been good to you. Your brother too."

He raised his hand and smashed the barrel of the gun into the side of the young man's face, the sound making everyone in the room jump. There was a sharp cry of pain that echoed through the warehouse.

Arthur kept his face expressionless as Cobb leaned back.

"But if you ever talk to me like that again, I'll throw you out into the streets. No money. No protection. No name to speak of. You'll be dead by the end of the week, so why don't you shut up and start acting like a man." He turned to Eames and threw him back his gun. "Get this out of my sight."

He looked at Arthur. "I'm going home. We'll discuss this more tomorrow."

Arthur waited until he left before releasing the panting man in his arms. "You're an idiot, Frank," he muttered before turning his back. He glanced at Eames again. "Get everyone home safely."


	6. Chapter 6

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inception. Swearing in this chapter. I might move it up to an M later on.**

When Arthur woke up the next morning, his muscles were sore from carrying all the nerves from last night. He rolled over and blinked, adjusting his tired eyes to the light.

Cobb had seemed so stressed the other night. He really wasn't the same person he used to be. It was like he was lost in another world, all by himself. Mourning wasn't easy for him, but it was never an easy thing for anyone. That's one thing that a person can fear more than death. Loneliness.

Arthur groaned as he pushed himself out of his bed. He stretched his aching arms above his head and exhaled.

He had become used to being lonely. He figured that it was for the best. A lifestyle like his required focus and safety, something which he could only just provide for himself, let alone anyone else.

"Shit," he muttered as he realised what he was doing today. He had unwillingly agreed himself to a conversion on Nash in Main street today. He shook his head to himself and thought about how Cobb would react if he knew about it.

He slipped on a clean shirt and started buttoning himself up. Did he have time do visit the bar today? He needed a good drink in order to go through with this. Maybe he would see Ariadne again…

Arthur froze and realised that he had been thinking about her a lot. An unnecessary amount.

"Jesus man, get a grip," he mumbled to himself as he knotted his tie.

Arthur kicked the street pavement with his shoe, ignoring the passing looks of people. Normally he wouldn't walk down busy streets in broad daylight for the comfort of other people, but he felt like being part of civilization today.

As he turned a corner, he caught eye of a man. Nobody particularly special, simple business attire and a thick coat, just as any other person on the street, but there was something that caught Arthur's eye.

This man was staring directly at him. At least 100 people on one street and this man was looking at _him._ Arthur kept his eyes on the floor, whilst hastily turning around another, less crowded corner.

He knew he was being followed from that point on, and kept a eager hand on his gun, hidden in his pocket, ready to fire. His instincts kicked in, and he quickly listed everything he could and should do.

_Run. Run home, loose the follower._

_Take him out. Wait till you're on a quieter street and shoot._

_Find out who he is and find out what he wants._

Deciding to go with the last option, he quickly moved to another street and pressed himself against the wall. His heart pumping gave him adrenaline, and he was on the edge, waiting for the precise moment.

As soon as he saw a suit turn the same corner, he reached his arm out and pulled the person onto the ground. He snatched out his gun and held it to his head.

"What the-"

"Shut up," Arthur snapped. "Who are you?"

"Let me go! I'm just here to give you a message!"

Arthur narrowed his eyes. "Oh yeah? What's the message, then?"

The man reached into his pocket and shakily pulled out a note. "Here."

Arthur looked at him for a moment before releasing him. The man scrambled to his feet, clearly new to the mafia. That realisation made Arthur feel kind of bad for the guy. He had no idea what he was getting himself into.

Arthur eyed him for a moment. "Now…get out of here before I kill you."

The man nodded and quickly ran away, leaving Arthur to stare into the distance. He looked into his hand and unfolded the paper.

_If you don't mind your own business, more of your people will die. _

Arthur sighed to himself and placed the note in his pocket, along with his gun. He couldn't even go for a morning walk without getting some sort of harassment. He quickly started walking again, trying to ignore the dead weight of the note in his pocket.

* * *

"Will Mr Cobb be joining you, Mr Falcone?"

Arthur shook his head and handed his jacket to one of the waiters. "Not today."

The man nodded, obviously wanting to get on the good side of one of the most well known guys in the city. Arthur noticed he visibly seemed to relax when he said that Cobb wasn't coming.

"Have a nice day, Sir."

Arthur walked over to the bar and took his seat on one of the expensive bar stools. He glanced around him for a brief moment before ordering his drink. He looked at the bartender and quickly avoided his eye contact, as not to intimidate him. He did that to people, whether he was aware of it or not. He sipped his drink appreciatively.

Poor Frank. He had to admit it, he did feel bad for the guy. He'd never had any brothers or sisters, but Arthur could tell that it was killing him. Especially loosing him to Fischer. That was why Cobb always said it was best to not get into any involvements. You only end up loosing people. Like it said before, loneliness is worse than death.

Due to a sudden urge, he looked over his shoulder. He inwardly smiled when he saw none other than Ariadne , leaning against the back door frame. He stood up and walked over, drink in hand. It wasn't long before she noticed him.

"Miss Peterson, you look nothing less than stunning this evening," he smirked.

"Thank you," she lightly smiled.

He shrugged. "No problem. May I buy you a drink?"

"Oh…I'm good thank you," she replied. "Don't let me interrupt your drink."

He placed his hand in his pocket. "So, why are you hiding back here? You should be out there, catching the attention of all the others."

She folded her arms across her chest. "I'm just waiting for someone, then I'm going."

"Ah."

There was a brief silence. Arthur stared at her for a moment, taking in her expression.

"It's funny, the first time we talked, you seemed to reluctant. Now you seem perfectly comfortable."

She shrugged. "I didn't know what to expect from a mobster. But…you seem like a nice person. I think I can trust you."

He raised an eyebrow. "Trust is a dangerous thing."

"In your job, I'm sure it is, but in reality, it's very important," she pointed out.

He nodded. "I'm sure you're right."

She smiled, a smile that caught his attention. "So, what are you doing today? Or will you have to kill me if you tell me?"

He smirked. "Trust me, you don't want to know what I'm doing today. It's so.."

"Illegal?"

"Everything I do is illegal." Arthur swallowed down the last of his drink and placed it on the nearest table. "I should be going. Maybe I'll see you again."

"Maybe."

He smiled. "It was nice seeing you again, Ariadne."

"You to, Arthur," she smiled in return. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone about this."

He nodded towards her and walked away, feeling some sort of smug satisfaction about talking to her again. For those few moments, he felt a nice feeling. One that he hadn't felt in a long time.

It sunk as soon as he remembered that he was going to meet Eames.


	7. Chapter 7

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inception. Swearing in this chapter. I might move it up to an M later on.**

Arthur walked down the street until he felt a presence next to him.

"About time you joined us," Eames mumbled.

Arthur turned to him and stared at him stubbornly. "Eames, we're not doing this today"

Eames blinked. "What? Go fuck yourself, I've been planning this since last week."

"Read this you ass," Arthur said, shoving the note into Eames hand. He watched as Eames read it, then cursed to himself.

"Are you going to show this to Cob?" he asked.

Arthur shrugged. "Of course. Why wouldn't I? Besides, we don't want to loose anymore people."

"Arthur, that's not realistic thinking. People are going to die in order to get Fischer out of here."

Arthur shuddered. "I know. It's just…"

Eames looked over at him. "You've been acting really strange recently. What's going on with you?"

"Nothing."

"Well you need to get your shit together."

"I know," Arthur sighed.

Eames paused. "Don't tell me you've met a girl."

"No!" Arthur snapped. "I'm just…tired."

Eames held up his hands in a sign of defence. "Fine, fine. So," he said, tucking his hands into his pockets. "What's on the agenda for today?"

"Nothing. Just…relax for today, we'll have work tomorrow. Just…" Arthur narrowed his eyes. "Don't get into any trouble."

Eames shrugged. "I can't help it. I don't go to trouble, it comes to me."

"Yeah yeah, whatever. Get out of here."

Eames disappeared around the corner as quickly as he came, leaving Arthur alone. With nothing to do, Arthur wondered whether he should go back to the bar to see her again…

He quickly shook that thought out of his head. It was dangerous enough that he'd seen her more than once. He didn't want the death of an innocent person on his conscience. Arthur thought that it would sometimes we easier to run away. Go to Chicago or the country, just to start again.

"Mr Falcone?"

Arthur swung around and blinked. "Yes Ma'am?"

The blonde in front of him looked nervous. But there was also something else in her eyes that Arthur couldn't pin.

"Sorry to bother you…" she mumbled, fiddling with the ends of her gloves.

He smiled softly. "That's alright. May I help you with anything?"

She nodded. "I..I believe you knew my husband."

He narrowed his eyes. "I meet a lot of people Ma'am. Can you be more specific?"

"Sorry," she sighed. "His name was Tony. I think he was in Dominic Cobb's gang."

Arthur swallowed. Now he could recognise what was in her eyes. Sadness.

"I know for a fact that you, Mr Falcone, were in the same gang," she continued.

Arthur nodded. "Yes Ma'am. I knew Tony. Good man."

"He was." The woman paused. "He looked after Carl and I."

Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Carl?"

"Our son."

Rip. Arthur felt his heard tear in two. "Tony was a father?"

She nodded. "The best. He was very careful about us. Always making sure we didn't get involved." Arthur nearly ran for the hills when he saw her bottom lip quiver ever so slightly.

"What can I do for you?" Arthur asked quietly.

The women inhaled and straightened her shoulders. "I just wanted to know…did you find out who did it?"

Arthur sighed. "We're trying Ma'am. I promise, we'll get whoever it is."

"Please do," she said, almost pleading. "I just…"

Arthur placed a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened, but quickly relaxed.

"Would you like me to walk you home?" he asked politely.

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine thank you."

"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone about this," he promised.

"…Thank you Mr Falcone-"

He held up his hand. "Please. Call me Arthur."

"Thank you Arthur," she smiled.

As she walked away, Arthur couldn't help but feel some smug satisfaction from helping someone.

_Tony had a wife. And a child. _

Arthur could not place at least one time that would have led him to believe that Tony had any relationships. It made him think about who else on the team might have a wife or child. Arthur suddenly came to the frightening realisation that no matter who else had a family, he was still completely alone.


	8. Chapter 8

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inception.**

**The next chapter will have some more action in, I promise.**

That night, Arthur found himself running. He had no idea how he got into this situation, but here he was. Running.

It started out as such a pleasant day. But all it takes is one wrong glance or a misdirection and you end up being chased.

Lucky for him, it was late at night, so he didn't have to worry about innocent pedestrians or bystanders. He only had to focus on himself.

He ducked into the nearest ally, and reached into his pocket for his gun. He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder, pulling him into the darkness. As he looked up, a fist collided with his face.

"You son of a bitch," a voice hissed. "Planning to find me? Planning to take me down?"

Arthur blinked at the shadow. "Nash?"

Another punch collided with his jaw, sending him to the ground. He looked up at Nash, who was staring down at him in disgust.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Arthur panted.

Nash kicked him in the shoulder, sending a spike of pain up his arm. "You and your friend Eames were planning to get to me today."

Arthur leaned up and exhaled. "Yes. We were. And I'm sorry we didn't."

Another kick sent Arthur to the ground in a daze of pain and blood.

"You best be careful, Falcone," he snapped. "You'll be the next one to go."

Arthur lay on the ground for a moment, considering whether or not to retaliate. For a while, the only sound was Nash's ragged breathing. Arthur waited until he could no longer feel himself bleeding.

"Fucking wuss."

He waited until the footsteps subsided. The started counting the number of breaths he took before it was safe to get up. At least a quarter of an hour went by until he found the energy to compute. When he was sure that there was nobody around, he pushed himself off the ground, slowly. No, he wasn't a wuss, or a coward. He just knew that he needed the right amount of strength and energy to fight properly. He didn't want to do anything half-assed. Especially when it came to Nash.

Arthur pushed himself against the wall and reached to his face. When he felt the warm, wet substance along his mouth, he blinked. He felt along his shoulder and winced at the strange pain he felt in the place Nash had kicked him.

"Shit," he hissed as he pressed on his sore muscles. This wasn't the worst he'd got into, not by a long shot.

"Arthur?"

He spun around and turned himself into attack mode. He sighed when he saw her.

"Ariadne, leave."

She stepped forward and took in the sight of him. "Arthur, are you ok?"

"Leave, Ariadne. I don't know if he was the only one," he snapped.

She hovered over him for a moment. "Arthur, you need help-"

Arthur spun around. "Ariadne, please. I don't need anyone's help. Just go."

Ariadne frowned, obviously catching sight of his bloody face.

"Arthur, I can't just let you walk off like this. Please, let me help you, or at least take you somewhere…"

Arthur shook his head. "Your kindness is going to get you killed."

She smile. "That's a good way to go." She moved forward and started examining his shoulder, and Arthur mentally noted that this was the closest he'd even got to her.

"Come with me," she said, placing a soft hand on his good arm.

"Where are we going?"

"Your place," she said, rolling her eyes.

Arthur paused on the spot. "Ariadne, you can't know where I live."

She folded her arms across her chest. "Why not?"

"Nobody can. I don't think Cobb even knows where I live."

Ariadne nodded. "You do a lot to keep up with secrecy, right?"

"Right. Besides, I'll be fine," he said, pulling away once more. "I'm meeting Eames in half an hour."

She looked sceptical. Arthur also noted that it looked good on her. "Are you sure?" she asked.

He nodded. "I'm sure. Don't worry about me, I've been through a lot worse."

She paused for a moment. "Which bar are you going to?"

"The Totem. Why?"

A small smile played on the edge of her lips. "Well, you'll have to escort me then, because it looks like we're going to the same place."

Arthur couldn't hide the smile. "…I'd love to."


	9. Chapter 9

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inception.**

**For all you A and A lovers, don't worry, the next few chapters will be full of 'them.**

**Action, as promised. Hope it's good enough. Warning- there may be violence and swearing in this chapter. Just being prepared. **

"Fuck me, Arthur! What happened to you?"

Arthur rolled his eyes and slipped into the booth opposite Eames. "I was followed."

Eames frowned. "When was this?"

"Just now, outside."

Eames leaned across the table. "Did you see who it was?" he asked quietly.

Arthur paused for a moment. "Nash."

"Son of a bitch, Arthur I told you we should have-"

"Yeah well I guarantee you that if we'd gone after him, we'd all be dead before tomorrow morning," Arthur snapped, pulling down his sleeves, trying to straighten himself out. He managed to sneak a quick glance at the familiar doe eyed woman he's been distracted with recently.

Eames cleared his throat and pulled a slight smirk from the corner of his mouth. "Looking at anything nice?"

Arthur snapped his head back towards Eames. "No. Just…just shut up Eames, ok?"

Eames held his hands up in defence. "Geez. You need to relax…"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Eames, it's a little hard for me to do that right now. Not with all the crap we have to deal with from Fischer."

Eames took a sip, actually, a swallow would be more appropriate word, of his drink. "Speaking of which, does Cobb have any ideas yet?"

"Not that I know of." Arthur sighed. "I guess at the end of the day the plan will be to-"

"Kill him?"

"I was going to say get him out of New York, but that works too." Arthur eyed Eames from across the table. "Had any contact with Yusuf recently?"

Eames shook his head. "Nope. His prices have gone up, and I need the go-ahead from Cobb before we get any more."

"We need the money. Yusuf's drugs are our only supply goin' for us at the moment."

"Yeah well…" Eames looked at the table. "Now that Tony's gone we need a new middle man."

Arthur let his eyes fall to the floor. The same image of his wife floated into his mind. How sad she looked. How angry she was.

"Eames…did you know that Tony was married?"

Eames' eyebrows kitted together in a mask of confusion. "No."

Arthur nodded. "Yep. Had a kid too."

Eames sighed. "Jesus christ."

"I know." Arthur's hand tightened around his glass. "All because of Fischer, that kid now doesn't have a father."

Eames chuckled at the back of his throat. "If it wasn't Fischer, it would be someone else…you know that, right?"

"Yeah, but I'm just saying, we've been getting a lot of trouble recently, and relaxing isn't part of my agenda."

Arthur watched as Eames' eyes flickered from his to the door behind him. There was a brief flash of something Arthur couldn't understand.

"Shut," Eames muttered. "Talking of trouble…"

Arthur turned his head around and swallowed. "What's he doin' here?"

"Giving me shit, that's what." Eames looked Arthur in the eye. Something he often did when he needed his full attention. "Things are gonna get rough…."

Arthur frowned. "Eames, what did you do this-"

"Hello boys."

Eames kept his head down, whilst Arthur held his high, not wanting to be swayed by someone else. He stood up and looked at the man next to him.

"Hello Mr Saito."

Saito smiled, in a way that made Arthur want to run for the hills. "Ah, Arthur. My, aren't we the accomplished one?"

Arthur kept a stone face. "Will you be joining us?"

Saito chuckled deeply. "No thanks, I don't drink with thieves."

_Oh Eames. What now?_ Arthur looked over at Eames, who was smiling innocently. He stood up. "Ah Saito. Nice to see you again, how's business?"

Saito's face darkened. "Eames. You and I have some _business _to talk about."

"Woah, woah," Arthur said, trying to intervene. "Mr Saito, whatever this idiot," he spat at Eames. "Has done, I'll pay for it. We can just forget it, 'cause you know," he leaned over to Saito ever-so-slightly. "Mr Cobb hates it when someone he needs gets hurt. "

Saito sighed. "It's not about the money. Mr Eames has done something much worse than that."

Arthur turned to Eames, feeling himself becoming increasingly angry. "What did you do, Eames?" he hissed.

Eames cleared his throat "I umm…you know, it's really not that big a deal…"

"You really know how to sway the women Mr Eames…" Saito glared. "Especially married ones."

Arthur snapped his head to Eames and burnt holes through him. "Eames. Please tell me you didn't…"

Eames shrugged. "I can't help it! It's the charm!"

Arthur turned back to Saito, who was growing angrier by the second. "Look, Saito, he didn't mean it, he's an idiot!"

"Hey!"

"But you can't do anything to him. So Eames, just say you're sorry, and this will all blow off."

Eames nodded. "Look mate, really sorry about that!"

"Too late," Saito snapped. "You slept with my wife. Time to settle the score, Eames," he reached his hand into his jacket…

Arthur pulled his gun out of his pocket, causing Saito to stiffen. He looked at him for a few moments. "Look Satio, either you leave without Eames and in one piece, or don't leave at all."

Saito chuckled again, making Arthur unnerved. He placed his hands in his pockets. "It's funny. I could be saying the same thing to you."

Arthur furrowed his brow. Within a few moments, he heard Eames inhale sharply behind him. He looked around and suddenly realised there were at least 4 other guys in the bar, all with guns, simply _daring_ Arthur to try and shoot their leader. Arthur sighed to himself. He could kill Eames himself right now.

"Eames-"

"Got your back," Eames replied, and Arthur could hear the sound of his safety being flicked off. Arthur noticed that every other person in the room had frozen, waiting.

"If I can't get to Eames, I'll get you both," Saito smile cruelly.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Mr Saito."

Arthur watched as Saito looked behind him. He visibly stiffened when he saw Cobb, standing on the other side of the room, hands in pockets, looking as calm as ever.

He walked forward as he spoke. "You see Mr Saito, if you even _try_ and shoot _any _of my men..." He smiled at Saito. "...Then I will personally make sure that you wish you'd never seen daylight."


	10. Chapter 10

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION.**

**Thanks for all of your reviews, they really make my day. **

Saito swallowed, and Arthur could see the nervousness he felt. Arthur couldn't help but get some sort of satisfaction from that.

"Mr Cobb," he stammered. "I'm afraid…I need to deal with Eames."

Cobb shook his head. "No you don't. You're gonna leave, and you're gonna leave right now. Understand?"

Saito's hand fell from his pocket. "Look around you Cobb, either I do my business, or you and your two little followers here can go straight to hell."

Cobb smirked ever-so-slightly, the kind of smirk that would sent shivers up Arthur's spine. "Ah, Saito. That's a shame. 'Cause I've got around 5 men out there, guns loaded, just waiting for some action." He smiled again. "I can't deny them the satisfaction of blowing your head off."

Arthur looked at Cobb, unsure of whether he was lying or not. That was one of the feature that made him a good mobster. They're all brilliant liars.

Saito's hand hovered over his hidden holster. "That's a risk that I'm going to have to take."

"_Try it,_" Cobb hissed.

Saito rolled his eyes. _Risky move,_ Arthur thought to himself.

"Look Mr Cobb, either you leave and let me get on with my business, or I'll have to take action."

Cobb snorted. "Action? You sound like a fuckin' kid. Why don't you run back home and let the men have their drinks."

Saito frowned, clicked his fingers and within a split second, everyone had moved. Eames was suddenly by Cobb, gun in the air, defending their boss. Arthur turned around and stiffened. He watched as some bastard grabbed the nearest person and held them tightly by the neck, gun to their head. Arthur's hand tightened around his gun when he saw it was Ariadne.

"Leave now, Cobb," Saito demanded.

"This is our spot, you leave," Cobb snapped in return.

Arthur couldn't rip his eyes away as he watched Ariadne struggle under the man's tight grip. They made quick eye contact before a small whimper of pain escaped her lips. Arthur felt this strange feeling in his chest as he watched Ariadne panic.

"Let her go," he snapped. "What does she have to do with this?"

"When I get angry, people get hurt," Saito spat.

"I'm not going to say it again Saito, let her go or I'll blow your fucking brains out," Arthur growled in retaliation.

"Leave or innocent people start getting hurt."

Arthur looked at Cobb. "Cobb, let's just go, it's not worth the fight."

Cobb stared at Arthur. For a moment before turning his attention back to Saito. "Don't start something with me Saito."

"Cobb, let's go," Arthur repeated.

"Shut up, Arthur," Cobb snapped. Arthur swallowed and tried to keep his gun steady.

"Very well, you leave me no choice," Saito muttered. "…Kill them."

Arthur pushed himself against the nearest wall as the sound of shattered glass and gunshots filled the air. Pulling back the safety on his gun, he shot back up and started taking aim. His inner fighter was taking mental notes of various positions, how many there were, who to shoot, but his inner Arthur was taking a mental note of how many innocent people there were around them, trying to avoid shooting the wrong person, and more importantly, where Ariadne was.

He could only assume that Cobb was lying about the others, since there seemed to be no sign of any help. Help that they really could have used in that situation. He took aim and fired at an attacker, feeling the satisfaction rise up in him as the man fell to the ground. He looked over at Eames and Cobb, who were also in mid-shoot, both as calm as ever. Arthur envied them.

The noise was unbearable. Arthur often had nightmares about gunshots and screams that would wake him up in the middle of the night. The real thing always seemed so much worse. This was real, and although he would never admit it, Arthur was scared. He could get shot, or killed at any moment. But at the same time it gave him some sort of sick adrenaline.

He hated that fact that he liked shooting the bad guys.

"Arthur! Let's go!" Eames yelled, pushing Cobb towards the door. Arthur shot again, sending another attacker down to the floor.

He looked at the exit for a moment, but he found himself rooted to the spot. "Not without her!" He gave Eames on more quick glance. "I'll meet you out front!"

"Arthur!" Arthur didn't stay to hear Eames any more. He ran back into the panicked crowd. He could feel his heart pounding insanely loudly. Arthur moved across the room quickly, his eyes scanning every person. He looked over and stiffened. The same man was still holding Ariadne, who was now completely panicked. Arthur felt his fist curl by his side and he started pushing though people. He ran up behind the guy and pulled back his shoulder roughly.

"Fuck you," he muttered, connecting his fist with the man's jaw with a sickening crack. Arthur watched as he fell to the ground. He looked over and saw Ariadne on the ground. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up, before realised that she was indeed, unconscious.

Right then, he decided to make the most dangerous choice he had ever made.

"Don't worry, I'm getting you out of here."


	11. Chapter 11

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inception.**

**I am sorry, but I am not happy. How did Eclipse win EVERYTHING over Inception? I thought we had this in the bag, people? It's a shame that a film as good as Inception has not won at least ONE Best Film award! Especially over Eclipse? Just because Taylor Lautner takes off his shirt? Geez, what is up with the media nowadays? Films are so past their time apart from the occasional good film, that doesn't even get recognition!**

**Sorry, little much needed rant. On with the story!**

* * *

Arthur carried Ariadne out the back, hoping to god that the car was around the corner, waiting for them. He sighed with relief when he saw Cobb and Eames waiting for him.

Cobb sighed when he saw him. "Arthur what the-" He looked Ariadne in Arthur's arms and flicked his angry eyes back up to Arthur's. "What the fuck are you doing, leave her here!"

Arthur ignored his statement and walked over to the car. "Eames, get the door."

Eames gave Cobb a quick look. "Um, Arthur, you can't bring-"

"I'm not leaving Ariadne here, so just open the god damn door before we all get shot," Arthur snapped.

Cobb's eyes narrowed. "Ariadne? You know her?"

"Well…no…but yeah…we met a few times by accident." Arthur shook his head. "Look, I'm not leaving her here."

Eames stepped forward, clearly ready to leave. "Look Arthur, you realise what happens if she comes with us?"

Arthur nodded in return. "Yes, but I don't care. Now help me."

Cobb sighed and muttered something under his breath whilst slipping into the front seat. Eames opened the door and ran to the other side. Arthur looked at Ariadne once more, before slipping her into the car as carefully as he could.

His head snapped up when he heard yelling, and quickly pushed himself into the backseat. "Drive."

After the car pulled away, Cobb turned to face Eames. "What did you do now?"

"He slept with Saito's wife," Arthur said, rolling his eyes.

"For christ's sake, Eames. Anyone get shot?"

Eames shook his head whilst turning a corner. "No, I'm fine."

"Arthur?"

"I'm good," Arthur replied. He looked over in the seat next to him and watched Ariadne. He couldn't understand it. He just couldn't. He'd been in a situation like that before, and he'd always just run when told. So what was it about Ariadne that made him stay?

He reached forward and brushed a strand of hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear. His hand lingered on her face for a while. He couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. He had got her in that situation.

""I'm sorry," he whispered.

"What?" Eames asked from the front.

Arthur looked up. "Oh…nothing."

Cobb sighed. "You know, Arthur," his voice was softer now. "…It may have been safer to leave her there."

Arthur's brow furrowed. "I know. I just…couldn't,"

What now? Arthur's thoughts ran manically around his head, trying to find a solution to this impossible situation. _You realise what happens if she comes with us?_ Eames had asked. Arthur knew. This girl now lying next to him would never have a normal life. At least, it would be very unlikely. The more he thought about it, he started wishing he hadn't of brought her. He shrugged that thought away, grimly thinking of all that could have happened to her if he'd left her there. He would have to watch her now, stay with her, making sure she didn't get into trouble to into a run in with someone she wasn't supposed to. He sighed heavily, knowing that most likely, someone would have seen him with her. The terrifying truth dawned over him, that if anyone knew about her and him, they would kill her at the first chance they got.

"Shit," he hissed, still sore from his run in with Nash earlier. Oh well, grow and pair and move on, as Eames would say.

He straightened himself, wondering what the rest of the team would think. She would have to be a secret. A promise between everyone to keep her safe.

Arthur blinked. _What the hell is wrong with me?_ he thought. _Why am I stressing about this so much? Promises and secrets are not what we need right now. Hell, it's not like Ariadne needed this._

At that moment, he could only pin point his behaviour down to one thing. The thing that made him obsess over Ariadne for the past few days. One very inconvenient, dangerous thing.

He _liked _her.


	12. Chapter 12

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inception.**

**Really sorry about the delays on all my stories, but I have exams next week and I REALLY need to do some work for that. So this is for you who have been waiting patiently for a while for a new chapter. **

As the car pulled up, Arthur watched as Cobb hurried out, slamming the door behind him. Eames raised an eyebrow as Cobb stormed into the warehouse. Arthur slid his arm under Ariadne, trying to carry her as gently as he could.

"He's not happy about this," Eames teased.

Arthur ignored him, checking over his shoulder for any signs danger. Eames sighed and walked behind him, keeping a firm grip on his gun. Arthur quickly hurried into the warehouse, Eames shutting the door behind him. Arthur waited before Eames has disappeared into Cobb's office, then walked over to the couch to place Ariadne down. He looked at the tattered piece of furniture and paused.

_Far too big a contrast in appearance_ he thought to himself. After coming to the co conclusion that there was nowhere else to put her, the quickly lay her on the couch and stepped back.

He sighed and let his hand run through his hair, taking in the brief moment of peace. He hovered for a moment, before moving to walk to Cobb's door. He entered without knocking, making his way into the room. The tense atmosphere hit him like a pail of cold water. Eames looked over at him, whilst Cobb simply stared at the floor.

"So, what are going to do?" Arthur asked, placing his hands in his pockets.

Cobb sighed. "We need to establish power. Fischer will know what happened today. He'll think-"

"We've gone weaker?" Eames asked.

Cobb nodded. "To be blunt, yeah."

"So what are we gong to do?"

"…We make a plan. "

Eames sat down on the nearest chair, reaching into his pocket for a cigarette. "I may be acting a little idiotic here, but what type of plan are we going to make exactly?"

Cobb paused for a moment, letting the question hover in the air. "…We get rid of Fischer. Permanently."

Arthur swallowed. "Cobb, are you saying…kill Fischer?"

He watched as the older man nodded. "Yeah. That's exactly what I'm saying." He reached towards his desk and picked up the phone. "Now can you two get outta' here so I can make a phone call?"

Eames shrugged and slightly walked out of the room. Arthur remained in place, rooted to the ground. Cobb looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Geez, do I need to ask twice?" Arthur didn't move. Cobb narrowed his eyes. "Did I stutter?" he hissed, making Arthur inwardly flinch at the familiar remark.

"Cobb-"

"Hey Arthur! Your _girlfriend _is waking up!" Eames called from the other room. Arthur sighed, turning on his heel, quickly walking out. He walked out into the warehouse and looked at Eames.

"Cobb is losing it," he stated.

Eames lightly smirked. "Aren't we all?"

Arthur rolled his eyes and walked over to the couch, where Ariadne was stirring. He stood over, waiting patiently for her to wake up.

"She's pretty," Eames mumbled under his breath. Arthur rolled his eyes.

"You think anything with two legs is pretty. Ariadne?"

Ariadne's eyes narrowed together slightly before opening slowly. She looked around for a moment, as if she was waking from a deep sleep. Arthur placed his hand lightly on her arm.

"Ariadne, it's me. Arthur. You're ok."

"Arthur? Wha…" She pushed herself up and looked around at the unfamiliar place. "Where am I?"

"Sorry it's not Buckingham Palace, love," Eames smiled. He held out his hand. "I'm Eames. It's nice to meet you. Arthur's done a very good job of keeping you secret."

Ariadne shook his hand lightly, and let it drop when he realised it. She looked at Arthur, slight confusion in her eyes. "What happened?"

Arthur's shoulder's fell. "You were attacked by one of Saito's guys. You passed out so I brought you here. I'm sorry."

Ariadne was silent for a moment, before lifting herself from the couch. "I…I should go-"

Arthur placed a light hand on her arm to restrain her. "I really think you should stay here. Just for tonight at least."

"But, what about-"

"Ariadne, please. I would feel a lot better if I could keep an eye on you tonight," Arthur reasoned, almost pleading. "I promise, no-one here will hurt you."

"Yeah, we don't bite," Eames smirked. "At least not until we know you better."

Arthur glared at Eames. "Piss off."

Eames shrugged and walked away, sneaking a wink at Ariadne. Arthur turned to her.

"I'm so sorry about this Ariadne, but you're gonna have to stay here. At least until we know it's safe for you to leave."

Ariadne looked at the floor. "I'm sorry I got in the way."

Arthur sighed lightly. "You didn't get in the way. They got you involved." He held out his hand and pulled her up, allowing her to manage her balance.

"…Thank you," she said quietly. "You could have left me there."

"You're welcome." He ran his eyes over her face quickly, observing her. "Look, I'm sorry. All this for a few conversations with a stranger. It just doesn't seem fair." He paused. "I'll try and get you out of this as best as I can. I promise."

"You don't have to make me any promises. I'm sure you have enough to deal with."

Arthur opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by the sound of the door of the warehouse opening. He stiffened, a force of habit, but relaxed when he saw the others walking in.

"That was great! Havn't had that much fun in a while." Joey was the first to enter, his brown hair falling into his eyes, obviously still racing with adrenaline. Arthur noted that he was always after some action. Always eager to fight. Not necessarily a bad thing in this business.

Arthur watched as Michael followed him in, looking more tired than the others. Controlled and focused, that was how Arthur would describe Michael. Sometimes Arthur often wondered if he was after his job. Michael seemed like the kind of guy that wanted to be Cobb's right hand man.

"Hey Arthur, you bailed quickly, thanks for helping us," Rick muttered sarcastically. Rick reminded Arthur too much of Eames. Cocky, sly, arrogant. No wonder the two got along. Arthur never could figure out why Cobb liked Rick so much. Maybe because of his pure hatred for Fischer.

"I had to run with Cobb and Eames, Rick. You know that." Arthur's brow knotted together. "Where's Frank?"

"Haven't seen him since the other day," Eames sighed upon re-entry. "Probably best. Personally, I don't want to see what he wants to do to Fischer."

As quickly as they arrived, everybody turned silent. Arthur looked at his shoes, focusing his attention on them. He heard a cough from in front of him.

"Who's the girl?"

Arthur looked back up and saw Michael standing in front of him, eyes narrowed. He felt the other's gazes on him like a bullet.

He looked behind him to Ariadne, who was looking intimidated to say the least. His jaw set, and he turned to face the others.

He stepped forward and straightened himself. "Ok…listen up. This is Ariadne. She's…a friend of mine. She was in the bar when Saito came in. Unlucky for her, they decided to turn their attention on the innocent bystanders. So I brought her back here." He made eye contact with Michael. "I don't know whether she was seen with me. But either way, I can't just send her out on the street."

"So…you're saying she's sticking with us?" Joey asked, eyebrow raised. "What about Fischer-"

"Fischer has nothing to do with Ariadne," Arthur snapped. "She won't be with us forever. Until I know she can leave without any problems, she's under my protection. _Your _protection. Nothing happens to her. And nobody even _mentions _on the street that she's with us. Understand?"

He received various nods. "And you are going to treat her as nothing less of a lady. Clear?"

"Crystal," Eames smiled.


	13. Chapter 13

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inception. But I do have a hell of a lot of fun with this story.**

**FYI- This is a kind of filler, as I wanted to add some more….I don't know. But anyway, here is a little something different.**

Fischer watched the nervous man in front of him. He tapped his fingers on the table patiently.

"Well? What did you see?" he asked, sounding bored of waiting.

The man in front of him swallowed. "I um, I saw them. They left after Saito's guys started shooting."

Fischer tensed. "Did they make it out alive?"

The shaky man nodded. "Yeah. I think all of them did."

Fischer smiled slightly. It wasn't a happy smile. It was a smile of pure evil and slyness. The type of smile a man could only have when he was fully satisfied that everything was going his way. "Perfect. I want to be the one to kill them. All of them." He paused for a moment. "Did you see anything else?"

The man nodded. "Yes."

There was a brief silence. Nash, who was standing behind Fischer, rolled his eyes.

"Well for christ's sake, what did you see?" he snapped.

The man flinched. "The tall one. Dark hair, Cobb's right hand man….um…Arthur. He left, but he wasn't alone."

Fischer's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"…He had…a girl with him. He was carrying her out, like she'd passed out or something. Must have taken her with him."

Fischer stared at the man before him. "What did she look like?"

"Um…she had…brown hair. Kinda'…curly towards the end. Black dress, kinda' short…pretty."

Quiet filled the room. Fischer chuckled deeply to himself before standing up. He had a sort of elegance about him. A confidence. Something that people would kill for. Like he knew he was feared, and that he enjoyed it. He smiled at the man.

"Wonderful. Just wonderful. This is _very _useful information. What did you say your name was?"

The man pulled on his tie, as if it were choking him. "Um…Mark."

Fischer nodded. "Well Mark. Thank you very much for letting us know about this. Unfortunately, we no longer have a use for you."

The man's eyebrows knitted together and in a spilt second, his eyes widened in fear. "No, please. Don't-"

A shot rang out. Because one shot was all it took. After all…Nash had a pretty good aim.

* * *

"Well Arthur, I think it's a little rude that we're not having a proper introduction." Rick stepped forward and smiled lightly at Ariadne. "Nice to meet you Miss Ariadne. I'm Rick."

Ariadne swallowed and allowed him to shake her hand. "Nice to meet you."

Arthur rolled his eyes when Rick pulled her hand closer and placed a light kiss on her hand. "Sorry, you haven't exactly caught us at our nicest looking moment. Unfortunately, you can only look so good when you've just returned from a shoot out."

"But I'm able to do it so well," Joey said, lightly shoving Rick out of his path. "Joey Moretti. " He pointed behind him to the taller, blonder man. "That's Michael." Then to the younger looking, dark haired boy. "And that's Mickey."

Ariadne tried to force a smile , but even that proved too difficult. Arthur saw this and moved next to her. "Right, everyone go and make some use of yourselves. Joey, you get the door today."

"Why do I get the door?"

"Just do it. Rick, Michael, go see Yusuf. Get the supply, then take it straight to Miles. Get the money and come right back. No funny business," Arthur threw out demands like a drill sergeant. Nobody questioned him, they just started moving. "Eames, go and find Frank. Cobb is gonna be pissed if he finds out he was gone in the first place. Take Mickey with you."

Eames nodded. "Sure. What if we don't find him?"

Arthur paused. "Just…find him." Eames nodded and motioned for Mickey to follow him. When all was quiet, Arthur turned back to Ariadne.

"Arthur…I…I don't really understand," she stammered.

Arthur felt another wave of guilt run through him. He pulled out a chair and motioned to it. "Here, sit down."

Ariadne complied and sat down in the chair, folding her arms across her chest. Arthur bent down in front of her.. He considered placing his hands on her knees, but came to the conclusion that it would be highly inappropriate at this moment in time. Perhaps some other time.

"Ariadne, what I did was stupid," he sighed. "I know it sounds awful, but I should have left you there. Now you're in a far worse position than you could ever be."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know if anyone saw you with me. If they did, not only does that put you in trouble with the law, but it endangers your life. You're gonna have to stick with me. At least until I know that I can let you go safely." His eyes narrowed. "Ariadne, I can't tell you how sorry I am about all this."

As if out of complete and utter spontaneity, she reached forward and grabbed his hand lightly. He couldn't remember the last time someone had touched him when it wasn't a fight, or a un-goodly business deal. He liked it. Almost like, he was being compensated for his loneliness. He looked up and saw her with the smallest smile on her lips.

"Arthur, I can't tell you how _thankful _I am that you didn't just leave me there. That's twice now you've helped me. And as for having to stick with you, that's fine with me. I only wish that I wasn't getting in the way of anything-"

"You're not getting in the way," Arthur said quickly. "I don't think of you as a burden Ariadne." Out of instinct, he placed his hand over hers. "I owe it to you to get you out of this."

"Thank you," she replied. Arthur could swear that it was the most honest he had ever heard someone.

Despite the gravity of their situation, Arthur couldn't help but feel slightly smug. He had no idea how long he would watch Ariadne for, but he didn't really mind. He just liked the idea of spending all that time with her. Gettting to know her. Talking to someone who wasn't a member of their gang. The smug feeling was quickly replaced with a feeling of selfishness. How could he go from feeling so horribly guilty about getting her into this at one moment, then be actually _glad _the next?


	14. Chapter 14

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION.**

Arthur smiled and stood up. "Come on, it's late, I'll get you someplace to stay." He offered his had out. Ariadne paused for a moment before placing her hand in his, allowing him to gently pull her out of the chair.

"Shouldn't you wait for the others to get back?" she asked, eyebrow raised.

Arthur shrugged. "They can handle themselves without me. I'm not the boss around here. Besides, I'll bet you're tired as hell."

Ariadne nodded. "Yeah," she admitted. "So where are we going?"

"I'll get you a hotel room. Somewhere in the city, you'll be least likely to be seen where there are more people," Arthur noted.

Ariadne nodded as she followed his lead out of the warehouse. "Are you staying with me?"

_Don't tempt me,_ Arthur thought to himself. He quickly cleared his throat. "No," he simply replied.

* * *

"It's been a while since I've actually driven," Arthur admitted as he gripped the steering wheel.

Arthur stared out of the window. "Why's that?"

"Well, Eames normally drives us around."

"How long have you been in the mafia?"

Arthur's eyes narrowed at the sudden question. "Geez, well it depends on what you mean."

"I wanna know your story," Ariadne said, half asking, half demanding.

Arthur chuckled to himself. "Well…I met Cobb when I first moved to New York. He was working in the bar, and his girlfriend Mal was a singer. I only just had enough money to keep myself going." He sighed. "It starts off simple enough. You do some dirty work, being the middle man for drug exchanges…information exchange…people pay you for this stuff."

"You didn't like it," Ariadne noted. It was more a statement than a question.

Arthur nodded. "Cobb became addicted to the lifestyle. Always wanting more money, wanting to learn more. I didn't want that, so I ditched Cobb for a while, trying to do some honest work. Things don't always work out that way."

"So what happened?"

"Long story short, I ended up getting a call from Miles. You know who this guy is, right?"

Ariadne nodded. "Of course, he's in the paper all the time."

"Well, he called me up. Apparently, he was retiring, and he wanted to create a new gang. The best in New York. He said that Cobb recommended me."

"Do you regret anything?"

The question struck Arthur of balance. He paused for a moment before decide ding on the best answer. "No. I regret nothing."

A brief silence filled the car. Arthur found the time to smile to himself. The car, he found, was filled with her sent. The sent of spices and something he couldn't could name. He wished the sent would stick, hopefully over-taking the smell of worn leather.

Arthur drew the car up to a stop outside a hotel. They both stepped out of the car, and Arthur took a moment to glaze his eyes over Ariadne's awed expression. He smiled and gestured for her to enter first. He'd always believed that chivalry isn't dead, mobster or not. Especially for Ariadne, and he'd be damned if he didn't treat her with the respect she deserved.

"One room please," he told the receptionist.

He nodded. "Ok Sir. How long will you two be staying with us?"

Arthur's face hardened. "The room is for the lady."

"My apologies." He scribbled something down in a large book and smiled at Ariadne. "Here you go Miss. Room 528."

"Thanks," Ariadne breathed whilst taking the key.

"Come on, I'll walk you up," Arthur said. Oh how temping it would be to grab her hand…

The elevator ride was quiet. But not that awkward quiet. That kind of quiet that can only happy when you're 100% comfortable with the person you're with. Arthur's temptation caused him to keep sneaking quick glances at Ariadne. They emerged on the 5th floor, Arthur determined to make sure she was safely in her room. Ariadne turned the lock and pushed open the door slightly and paused.

She turned to look at him. "Arthur. I can't afford-"

"Don't worry about it," Arthur said, holding up his hand.

Ariadne hovered. "But…I can't possibly-"

"Ariadne, seriously. Now, get some sleep. I'll be here tomorrow morning."

Ariadne nodded and made her way into the room.

"Ariadne?"

"Hmm?"

Arthur's eyebrows furrowed together. "Don't leave the room. Please. Don't let anyone in, either."

Ariadne paused before nodding. "Ok." She let a small smile tug at the corners of her mouth. "Thank you, Arthur."

He smiled. "…Goodnight."

He waited until the door was shut before making his way back to the elevator. The ride down seemed much more slow without Ariadne by his side. He walked straight back to the reception desk and placed his hands on the desk. He looked the receptionist in the eyes.

"What's your name?" he demanded.

The man swallowed. "Um, James, Sir."

"Look here James." Arthur motioned to the elevator. "I want you to make sure that nobody even _asks _about her. Nobody goes up to her room, and she doesn't come down. Got it?"

He received a shaky nod. "Yes Sir."

"And if she asks for something, you get it for her. Price is no objective, understand? That woman is very special to me. If _anything _happens to her, I'm holding you responsible."

"Don't worry Sir. I will ensure nothing happens to your girlfriend."

Arthur paused. He could correct him…

But he didn't. He simply slid a fifty across the desk, turned his back, and walked out. He walked straight to his car, locked the doors and let his head fall back into the leather head rest. He only wished he could do more for her than simply sticking her in a room. But after coming to the conclusion that he couldn't do anything for the night, he started the engine and drove away, knowing that the quicker he slept, the quicker he would wake up, and the quicker he would see her in the morning.


	15. Chapter 15

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION.**

Arthur promised himself before he slept, that he would be up and out of the house by 9.00 in the morning.

He was up and out by 8:45.

As he drove through the city, he felt a large amount of anxiety stick with him. He could just picture opening the door and her room in a dissaray. He quickly increased his speed as he sped down the road.

* * *

He knocked on the hardwood door and waited patiently. Well, as patient as he could be.

He door opened and he had to keep himself from sighing. She was there, just as he'd hoped.

"Arthur," she smiled. He could see from her tired eyes that she got about as much sleep as he did.

"Morning," he said with a slight nod of the head.

She stepped aside. "Come in."

He hovered for a moment before walking in. "No problems?"

She shook her head. "No. None at all." She paused. "Listen, Arthur. I really can't thank you enough-"

"Ariadne, please. You need to stop thanking me. I don't feel like I deserve it."

Her eyebrows furrowed. Arthur noted how cute it looked on her. "Why?"

He sighed. "Well for starters, I'm the one that got you into this. You wouldn't even need to be here if it weren't for me."

She folded her arms across her chest. "Tell you what. I'll stop thanking you, if you stop apologising."

"…Deal."

She held her hand out, which he took with no hesitation.

He smirked. "Didn't your mother ever tell you to never shake hands with a mobster?"

"Yeah…but she also told me never to be caught with a man in a hotel room in the morning," she countered.

"…Touché," he smiled. "Let's get to the warehouse."

* * *

Arthur escorted Ariadne into the warehouse, hoping that Cobb would be in a pleasant mood.

"Ah, Miss Ariadne," Eames greeted. "I trust you had a pleasant night?"

Ariadne nodded. "Yes, thank you."

"Glad to hear it. Did Arthur satisfy you fully?"

"Eames!" Arthur snapped. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure thing, darling."

Arthur turned to Ariadne, who had turned a slight shade of pink.

"I'll be right back. Make yourself…" he looked around. "As comfortable as you can."

He quickly made his way over to Eames who was staring at him, with a satisfied look on his face that Arthur wanted to punch away.

"What was that?" Arthur snapped.

Eames shrugged. "What was what?"

"That whole "Did Arthur satisfy you fully" bullshit."

Eames smiled. "Ok, first of all, I do not sound like that, my voice is much sexier. Secondly, it's obvious you're attracted to her."

Arthur paused. "I am not attracted to her."

Eames made a small sound at the back of his throat, halfway between a snort and a laugh. "Oh please, it's written all over your face. You _like _her."

Arthur stared at Eames for a moment. "…Alright…so let's say I'm attracted to her. There's nothing I can do about it!"

"Of course there is. Try courting her. Let her know you want to get inbetween her legs."

"Eames! It's not like that," Arthur snapped. "I'm not you, I don't just feel some sexual attraction to her. I like her, ok? She's fun and beautiful and she doesn't care who I am."

Eames blinked. "Jesus. Alright. Well just tell her that you like her then."

Arthur sighed. "It's not that easy. She's already in danger for being associated with me. I wouldn't even dare try and start something with her."

Eames placed a light hand on his shoulder, much to Arthur's distaste. "Look, I'm going to be honest. Life's too short, especially if you're one of us. You can't keep worrying about these things. If you don't do anything…you'll regret it."

Arthur sighed. He knew Eames was right (probably for the first time in his life), and he really did believe in the whole "take life by the reins" type of shit. But the risks and consequences pounded into his head like a jackhammer.

"Now come on. Cobb wanted a word."

He nodded and began to follow Eames into Cobb's office, half hating him, half loving him. Loving him because he had said the words that Arthur had wanted to hear. Hating him because he wouldn't be able to get the idea out of his head.

He walked with him to Cobb's office, knowing that whatever Cobb had to say, it wasn't going to be for anyone's particular benefit.

"Sit down," Cobb insisted, motioning to the two chairs in front of him. Arthur and Eames complied, hastily taking their seats.

Cobb paused for a moment, taking in their expressions. "…Boys…I've come up with a plan."

"A plan for Fischer?" Eames asked. "No shit, do tell."

Cobb folded his arms across his chest. "Well, in order to get him off our streets, we need to eliminate his gang, yes?"

Arthur nodded. "Yeah…"

"So I've devised a plan that will help us eliminate them one by one, until eventually, Fischer gets the message and leaves New York for good."

Eames grinned. "Perfect."

Cobb smiled, admittedly proud of his idea. "I know for a fact, that during the next few weeks, Fischer is sending his team of various errands. Information exchanges and such."

Arthur nodded. "You're saying we pick them off then they're alone?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying. Arthur, I need you to organise as much information as you can about Fischer's team. I need names, what they look like, where they're gonna be and when. Can you do that?"

Arthur smirked. "Give me a couple of hours."

Cobb clasped his hands together. "Perfect. Gentlemen…we're about to take back what's ours."


	16. Chapter 16

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION.**

**Sorry for the large amount of dialogue in this chapter, but it's pretty much just an information dump. I've also just finished developing the full plan for this story, and I am so exited to start getting into the good stuff (including more AA for all you fans). **

There were those rare times when Arthur felt proud to be in the mafia. He had a sense of power., a sense of control, something that he had always wanted whilst he was growing up. As often as he thought Cobb could be unfair, or too tough, or even a little intimidating, he often admired how people would stop whatever they were going and watch them.

That evening, when Cobb walked into the warehouse, that exact thing happened. The others stopped what they were doing.

"'Kay Arthur," he said, shrugging off his coat and jacket. "What have you got for me?"

Arthur cleared his throat. "Um…well, if all of you can take a seat…"

Eames walked over. "Come on boys, Mr up-himself has something to say. Come on Ariadne-"

"Wait," Cobb snapped, holding his hand up. "_She_ can't hear this."

Arthur's eyebrows furrowed together. "What? Why?"

Cobb turned around to face Ariadne, who was hovering lightly. He placed his hands in his pockets and lightened his stance. "No offence Miss, but I don't exactly trust you."

"Cobb!" Arthur growled.

Cobb paid no attention to the angered Arthur. "I don't think that some stranger should be listening to our conversations. Particularly the plans we are making."

Ariadne swallowed. "Oh…I should go then-"

"No, Ariadne, stay right there," Arthur quickly said. "Cobb, Ariadne is not some stranger. Even if you don't trust her, I do. She stays."

Cobb frowned. "Look Arthur," he said, his voice in a deeper, hushed tone. "I've working too hard and too long for this. I' not taking any risks. If want a girl? Fine. Go downtown and pick one up, but don't pretend for one second that you give more than a damn about her. I know you. You don't care about anyone but yourself."

Arthur blinked. "…Who are you? This isn't the Cobb I know."

Cobb paused briefly before narrowing his eyes. "Not now, Arthur. Just tell us what you know."

Arthur turned his back quickly, before walking to Ariadne. "Don't listen to him," he whispered into her ear.

Ariadne shifted lightly. "I feel so…out of place."

"I know. I'm sorry," Arthur sighed. "Tell you what, after this, we'll get out of here for a while, ok?"

She nodded. "Ok."

He sighed deeply. "Why don't you sit down. This won't be a moment."

* * *

"Fischer's main man is Nash, who we all know."

"Not to mention hate."

Arthur smirked slightly. "Then of course, there's that rat, James. Fischer's underboss. Now here's the good part. Tomorrow night, he's got a drug exchange going on downtown."

Eames smiled like the Cheshire cat., his feet balanced on the nearest table as he relaxed into his chair. "We can head him off. Nail the bastard!"

"Exactly. Rick. Joey. Downtown's your area."

"It's my lucky day," Rick smiled, clasping his hands together.

"Who else does Fischer have?" Michael sighed, rubbing his eyes with the side of his palm. Arthur made a guess and figured it was around midnight.

Arthur's eyes narrowed. "…John Sanchez."

There was a brief pause.

"You're fucking kidding me," Eames said, mouth hanging slightly.

Ariadne looked at Arthur, her face covered with gentle curiosity. "Who's that?"

Eames sighed. "That, love, is our worst nightmare."

"Fischer got him from the best picking lot."

"Which is?"

Arthur smirked down into the paper between his hands. "…New York state Prison."

Mickey smiled and stretched his hands above his head. "It's alright. We can take him, he's stupid as hell."

"And of course, there's Peter Browning, Fischer's godfather."

"We'll need more than a couple of people on that job," Cobb pointed out.

"Why's that?"

"Because Browning doesn't go anywhere without his little followers to protect him. we'll need 3 of us on that man at least."

"We can deal with that," Eames nodded.

"That's all I got. Fischer's good at keeping his team under wraps," Arthur sighed, throwing the paper down on the nearest table.

Cobb stood up quickly, straightening the ends of his jacket. "Good. That's all we needed to get started. Rick, Joey, tomorrow night, I want James here by midnight. Let's see if we can't squeeze a bit of information from him."

"More like strangle," Eames grinned.

"Now, I have some business I need taken care of. Eames?"

"Coming." Eames quickly stood up, ready to accompany Cobb.

Arthur looked up as Rick walked over to Ariadne. He placed his arm over her shoulder, in a way that made Arthur want to roll his eyes and punch the guy at the same time.

"So…I'm sure you don't wanna' spend the evening with our residential bore. Why don't you hang with me?"

Ariadne looked at Arthur. Arthur hated and loved that she could root him to the spot just by looking at him.

"I want to hang out with Arthur."

Arthur froze. She wanted to hang out with him. It wasn't a matter of obligation, oh no, she _wanted _to hang out with him. Arthur suddenly felt incredibly smug.

Rick shrugged. "Hmm. Your night."

Arthur waited before the last of the gang slipped out before turning on his heel to face the younger woman.

He raised an eyebrow. "You _want _to spend the night with me?"

Was that…a blush? Ariadne pushed some hair behind her ear and let out a small laugh. "Well…better you than Rick."

"Oh." Ah, so he was the best of a bad situation. Arthur sighed and placed his hands in his pockets, relaxing now that Cobb was gone. "Well, I think we should do something tonight. I for one would like to find out a bit more about you."

"Are you sure?" she smiled. "That's dangerous territory."

"I'm in the mafia," he smirked. "Try me."


	17. Chapter 17

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION.**

Arthur had been with many women in the past. None whom he cared for, or had even given a second thought about. They were simply a temporary solution to the loneliness he was living in. And often, when he awoke in hotel rooms with beautiful blondes, who had managed to temporarily _satisfy_, the something he was missing was never quite filled.

With Ariadne however, it was a completely different story. He felt like he _knew_ her, as if from some alternate universe. Maybe that would give some explanation as to why he loved the way his name sounded on her tongue, or why every time she spoke he would stop everything to listen. He hoped that it would give an explanation as to why all he wanted to do was to follow her wherever she went as they walked down the streets.

_I must be the world's best multi-tasker_ he thought to himself. He managed to memorise every crease, freckle and eyelash on her face, all while keeping his upmost attention into every word she said.

"Why did you move to New York?" he asked.

She shrugged. "It seemed like an exiting place to be. The city that never sleeps? It sounded so wonderfully cliché. But it turns out…you need money to live. Did you know that?"

He smiled. "Yes. I did."

"Well…for the past two years, I've been running round. Odd jobs as waitresses and stuff like that."

"And you're ok with that?"

She paused. "Well…whatever puts food in my stomach and a pillow under my head."

"Hmm," was all he could manage. Strong willed was the phrase that came to mind. This girl had to be tough to make a move like that. She wasn't weak, not in the least, but Arthur found that she still had a air of innocence about her. A charm.

"But I'd love to go to Paris," she sighed. "I wouldn't mind living on the streets if it was in Paris."

"I've been to Paris."

Her brown eyes lit up. "Really?"

He nodded. "Yeah, a few years ago. It was only for a month or so…"

"Tell me everything!" she demanded. "You don't know how lucky you are!"

He chuckled. "Well…there isn't really much to say. I didn't really take much notice. I saw the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, all that jazz. But it's the people that are really fascinating."

"Why?"

"Because they're so…themselves. They just don't care about who is watching."

"Lucky."

"Tell me about it," he sighed.

As they walked along the streets, Arthur noted how lovely the city really was. It had it's negative points, yes, but at times like this, when he was in good company and he was at him calmest, there really wasn't a negative in sight. Looking up, he could see the vast skyline stretching across the vast black blanket of a sky. Very light from a window was defined, and Arthur couldn't help but smile. He was half temped to make the night even better, and maybe even sneek a kiss...

He looked over to her, and his smile instantly disappeared. Her face was gentle as always, but this time, her eyes were watering and a few small tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"Ariadne?" he asked, turning to her fully. "Why are you crying? Was it something I said?"

She shook her head. "No. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ruin the moment."

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, wondering what he could do to console her.

"No, Arthur. You've been wonderful…too wonderful," she sighed. "I don't deserve it."

His eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Another sob escaped her lips as her shoulders began shaking. He didn't know what to do, but he knew he had to do something to comfort her. He edged closer, gently placing his hand around hers, squeezing it lightly.

"I don't deserve this, Arthur," she mumbled through tears. "You're being too kind, too gentle, and I've done nothing but lie to you."

He paused, his face hardening. "What do you mean?"

She grew silent for a moment, before turning to him. He could see in her eyes something that he'd never seen before. In anyone. Was it shame? Pleading? What ever it was, it was riveting him to those chocolate brown eyes of hers.

"Arthur, you _don't _want to be friends with me. You don't _want_ to protect me. You don't want to hang around like someone with me. Just let me go, and I'll take my chances with anyone else."

He shook his head. "I can't do that. If I let you go, something _will_ happen to you. It's not a case of if, or maybe, but when. I can't just let you go, knowing that something will happen-"

"I'm an escort, Arthur."

Arthur's hand loosened around hers. His gaze remained on her eyes.

"…What?" It came out as quiet as a whisper.

More tears trailed their way down her cheeks. "I'm an escort."

He turned his head to look at the ground as his jaw tightened. "An escort. As in…people pay you for-"

"Yes.."

His teeth gritted together. In his mind, Arthur remembered the first time he saw Ariadne, in a bar…with another man. The next time, she said she had to meet a friend. He swallowed, trying to push down images in his head of men, taking Ariadne out, paying her for her company. Paying her for more. Yes, Arthur had done this a few times, often to fill in long nights of loneliness, but Ariadne wasn't one of _those _women. She wasn't even close.

"Please say something."

He exhaled deeply "Why?"

She wiped away the moisture from her eyes with her palm. "You have to understand that when I moved here, I didn't have anything. Nothing to live from. It was the only way to survive. I'm so ashamed of it, Arthur. But I'm in too deep. I'm trapped." She shook her head. "You must be so disgusted to know me."

As if his body were working apart from his brain, he reached his hand out and lightly brushed it against her cheek, before moving it to her temple, brushing her hair behind her ear. His face was blank, not angry, not mocking, not even disappointment.

"Ariadne, you're not trapped," he said gently. "And I'm not disgusted, I know what it's like to be in a desperate situation."

She blinked. "I just wish that I wasn't nothing."

"You're not nothing," he smiled. "Right now, you're everything."

"Yeah, right. To who?"

"…To me."

A silence echoed over the both of them. Arthur looked down quickly.

"How long have you been doing this for?"

"Ever since I moved here," she sighed. "I need help, Arthur."

He locked his eyes with hers, pushing all negative thoughts to the back of his head. Anything he was thinking about shouldn't be said in front of her now. Not when she was so upset. He knew that her honesty needed to be treated with sympathy, much more than anything else. "I'll help you. I'll get you out of this," he promised.


	18. Chapter 18

**DISCALIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION**

**Hey guys, long time no see. Apologies for the irregular updates recently, especially regarding this story and Sweet Dreams. I will try and add more as much as I can. Word of warning, although linear, this chapter is a little…choppy in places, so I'm sorry if it seems a little rushed. Enjoy and review please!**

Arthur lay awake that night, unable to get even a wink of sleep.

Ariadne was an _escort._ The thought didn't settle well in his head. It's not that he felt badly towards her, because it's not like he was on steady moral ground himself, but he just didn't like what it meant. All he could think about was all the other men who had thought about her, gawked at her, _touched_ her. Admittedly, yes, he liked her. No, scratch that, he_ craved_ her. And the idea that so many men had already had her tasted sour in his head.

He also started thinking about things that he didn't want to think about. When she started talking to him, is that all she saw him as? A potential client?

_No. She doesn't think of me that way, he_ told himself. _Surely I'm more to her._

Deep down, he knew that this wasn't something she wanted. Anybody could see that. Arthur had more than his fair share of desperate situations, but Ariadne? She didn't deserve this. Any of it.

As fatigue finally started to take over, he shut his eyes and tried to clear his head. For the sake of his sanity if nothing else.

* * *

_He found himself on a dark street. He felt disorientated and out of place. He knew instantly that something was wrong. He began to walk forward, feeling that he shouldn't be staying in this place for too long._

"_Arthur!" a scream called._

_His head snapped around. He knew that voice._

"_Arthur! Help me!" _

_Ariadne._

_He began running, no, sprinting towards the direction of the scream, but it seemed like an endless maze, countless turns and buildings, diverting his every move. Eventually, he ran around the corner and froze. _

"_Ariadne….Cobb?"_

_Arthur couldn't move as he saw Cobb standing before him, a gun to his beloved Ariadne's head. _

_Cobb locked his eyes with Arthur's. "I told you Arthur, she's nothing but trouble. A waste of space."_

"_Cobb…"Arthur edged forward slightly. He knew it was just a dream, but he felt like he needed to do something to stop it. "She's not. Just let her go."_

_Ariadne clawed at Cobb's arm. "Arthur!"_

"_I told you, Arthur," Cobb sighed. "Never get attached to people. They'll only be taken away from you…"he continued, his hand trailing down her side._

"_Give her to me!" Arthur snapped, feeling anger rise inside him. _

_This Cobb wore an evil grin on his face as his arm tightened around her waist. "What's the matter, Art? Don't like the thought of competition?…"_

_Arthur watched in horror as he leaned down and kissed Ariadne, roughly and quickly. He felt himself grow sick as Ariadne began kissing him back, wrapping her arms around his neck._

"_Ariadne?" he whispered, his voice weak._

_She turned around over her shoulder and smirked at him. "What? You didn't think you were the only one, did you? Besides…" She grinned, in a way that Arthur found sadistic, a smile that he would never see on the real Ariadne._

"…_He pays more."_

He sat up quickly, the sunlight quickly burning his eyes through the curtains. He sighed and rubbed his eyes with the face of his palm, and he realised that his hand was shaking slightly. He quickly slipped out the of bed and walked into the bathroom. He refused to let this get to him anymore than it had. He turned on the sink and splashed some cold water in his face. It was refreshing, but didn't settle him.

* * *

As he drove them to the warehouse that morning, he noticed that everything around him seemed to be adapting to his mood. They sky was overcast and cloudy, and he could begin to hear droplets of water tapping on the windows. People were wrapped up in their winter coats, trying to brave the cold weather. Ariadne was quiet, and Arthur figured that he wasn't being too subtle with his frustration.

Neither of them spoke. Mind you, there really wasn't anything to say. And he didn't want to say anything that he would regret, anything that would remotely hurt her feelings.

When they arrived, he pulled up to the warehouse and cut the engine. They both remained still for a moment before she opened the door and slid out of the car. Arthur's knuckles grew white around the wheel for a moment before realising them. He pushed open the door and stepped out, when he realised that Ariadne was waiting outside the car door for him. How thoughtful.

As they walked into the warehouse, Arthur's head snapped back into reality, and he suddenly remembered why they were there. He cursed himself for being so easily distracted on a day like this.

"Arthur, are you ready for later?" Eames asked, approaching him and Ariadne.

"What's happening later?" she asked. It was the first time he'd heard her speak since the previous night.

Eames smirked as he spoke, "Arthur's going on a little stakeout tonight. We're planning on nailing on of Fischer's guys."

She blinked. "Nailing? As in…"

"Blowing their brains out? Yeah, that's exactly what we mean. Should be good fun," Eames said, sneaking her a quick wink, once that made Arthur want to punch him into the next street. He watched Eames walk away and began walking to the door.

"Where are you going?" he heard Ariadne's voice behind him.

"Fresh air," he said dismissively.

"You'll be careful, won't you?"

He turned on his heel and looked at her. "What do you mean?"

She crossed her arms over her chest. "I mean…tonight. You'll be careful?"

He furrowed his eyebrows and looked down at the ground. "…Yeah. Of course."

He turned around again and began walking out. As he pushed open the two doors, he inhaled the fresh air, pulling his coat tighter around himself. He quit smoking a few years before, which was a shame really, because he really could have used one. Being alone, it wasn't long before his thoughts trailed back to Ariadne.

She was, in a word, lovely. From the moment he saw her, he knew that he would pursue in any other world. A world where he wasn't a criminal, and she wasn't an escort. The more he thought about it, the more he realised that they were a perfect match. Both thrown into the bottom chains of society. He was feared, and she was helpless. People tried to stay away from him, whilst people would try and find Ariadne. He just wondered how many men had been able to touch his precious Ariadne. How many times she'd woken up in the morning next to some sick stranger.

"Arthur?"

He turned his head and said nothing. Ariadne appeared behind him and hovered by his side for a moment.

"You can't stop thinking about it, can you?" she asked, her voice small.

He shook his head.

"Why?"

He exhaled heavily. "I just…I just can't picture it. Not that I want to picture it, but it's just not…you."

"What do you mean?"

He turned to her fully and stared into her brown eyes. "You are _not_ that type of person. You're nowhere near the same level as people like me. You're too…sweet. Too beautiful. Too _good._ I simply can't put the pieces together of why someone like you would be stuck in this position."

She reached forward and clasped her cold hand around his. He did nothing as he felt the cool pressure sending shivers up his spine.

"If it bothers you that much, then don't try and picture it," she said. "Don't try and work it out. I told you this Arthur because I didn't want to keep that secret. I thought you could handle it. I didn't want it to bother you."

"Obviously it bothers me. I hate the idea of-"

"Stop," she sighed. "Just do me a favour and don't think of it. _Please_ don't think of me like that. Just think of me as the Ariadne you knew yesterday."

Within moments, Ariadne was wrapping her arms around Arthur's neck, pulling him into a hug. Arthur stiffened for a moment. He couldn't remember the last time someone had actually _hugged _him. He quickly moved his arms around her waist, holding her tightly. As he listened to her steady breathing, he knew that he wouldn't think about it anymore. He shouldn't. It wouldn't be fair to think of her like that.

Protect her, he would. But he pushed the unpleasant things to the back of his mind for those few moments. Right now, they were simply two friends in a much needed embrace.


	19. Chapter 19

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION.**

**I am currently in the process of planning the sequel for this… I know it's a bit early to be thinking of things like that, but the ending I planned for this would work so well with a sequel. *laughs uncontrollably***

**Question. How do you guys feel about the other members of Cobb's gang? I think they're pretty cool, so I try and include them as much as I can, but let me know what you think.**

* * *

The rest of the day was better. The revelation from the night before was forgotten, and Arthur didn't think about it. He spent the rest of the day with Ariadne (and to his misfortune, Eames). Eames really did get talking when he felt like it. He proudly told Ariadne about all the places he'd been, the countless things he'd done. And being Ariadne, she nodded along and found it to be quite interesting. Arthur simply rolled his eyes and threw in the occasional Eames-related insult.

When the evening came, Arthur knew that it was time for him to leave and go to work on Cobb's newest plan. Truthfully, he was looking forward to the later events. He would be lying if he said that he didn't hate Fischer's guts just as much as Cobb. He would love to see his world slowly disintegrate at the hands of their team.

Before he left, Arthur turned to Ariadne. "I'll get Eames to take you to your hotel."

She smiled. "Thank you."

Though confident that Eames would safely deliver her there, he still couldn't hide the light concern in his eyes. "You'll be alright? Are you sure you don't want to stay here until I get back?"

A light giggle escaped her lips, a beautiful sound to Arthur's ears.

"Of course," she assured. "Arthur, you shouldn't have to worry about me all the time."

_Shouldn't, but I do_, he secretly thought.

"Besides," she said, reaching forward and light brushing her hand down his arm, a gesture that did not go unappreciated by Arthur. "It's _you_ that I worry about right now."

"Trust me, Ariadne. I've done this type of thing before," he said with a slight smirk.

She nodded, but he could still see her eyes tracing across his face. He loved it when she looked at him like that. It made him feel like at least one person truly cared for him.

"Well, ok," she said, letting her arm fall. Her eyes flickered back up to his. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Make sure Eames behaves himself," he smiled. He leaned forward, and in a daze of adrenaline and Ariadne's sent, he pressed his lips lightly on her cheek, holding them there for a moment.

Then he realised what he was doing. His eyes widened slightly in panic, and he quickly pulled away. As he locked his panicked eyes with Ariadne's surprised ones, he cleared his throat awkwardly and ran a hand through his hair.

"Um…goodnight."

He turned quickly and began walking towards the door, feeling rather stupefied. Eames would tease him about that at the first chance he got, no doubt.

As soon as he walked outside, his head snapped into kill-mode. He knew he had to do this job right. The whole gang depended on the outcome of the next few jobs.

"Arthur!"

Arthur did not change his speed as the younger man appeared by his side.

"Ready for tonight, Joey?" Arthur asked, "I know this is your first ambush."

Joey nodded, excitement in his eyes. "Yeah, course. Although, I do have a question."

"Shoot."

"Well…what happens when we bring him back here?"

Arthur paused slightly. "Well…Cobb will probably want some information from him. Then, once we've got what we want…" He made a gesture with his hand as he lightly struck across the air before his neck.

"Woah," sighed Joey. "So…are you coming with us?"

"I'll be in the car if you need me," Arthur assure. Admittedly, he did feel sympathetic for Joey. He was younger than anybody else on the tem, and really hadn't been with them for too long. Arthur was reminded of himself when he first started working with Cobb. It's confusing and sometimes scary to a rookie, but all at the same time, slightly exhilarating. He caught the look in Joey's eye and gave him a small smile. "Don't worry, you and Rick will do just fine."

"Yeah, if you believed that, then you'd be hanging out with your girlfriend and not with us."

Arthur decided not to develop the subject of Ariadne. So he didn't correct him. He simply gave a quick chuckle and continued walking towards the car where Rick was waiting for them. Arthur slipped into the passenger seat and gave him a quick nod of acknowledgement.

"You know what to do, right?" he asked.

The older man rolled his eyes and started up the engine of the car. "I'm not incompetent, of course I do. Wait for Fischer's man, knock him out and bring him back to the car. Nice and easy."

"Just checking," Arthur mumbled as the car pulled away.

* * *

As all three men waited in the car, in downtown New York, the streets were impeccably quiet.

Arthur turned to face the other two. "Right. Go down the street and hide. As _soon_ as you see him, go in. Don't wait."

"Got it. What'll you do?" Joey asked.

Arthur shrugged.

"He'll be thinking of his _precious _Ariadne," Rick smirked.

"Shut up," Arthur said, giving Rick's arm a shove. "Now get out and do your job."

Without any more conversation, the car doors opened and the two men slipped out. Arthur locked the doors after them and watched as they both disappeared down the street. He waited.

With nothing else to do, he let his mind wonder back to the beautiful girl he'd left in the care of Eames.

Sweet Ariadne, who drove him crazy with desire. If he was being honest with himself, then he would admit that he wanted to listen to his more selfish side and not let her go after this was over. He promised he would get her out of this, but what would happen after that? Arthur knew that a simple parting of the ways would certainly not suffice. He was very temped to whisk her away from everyone else and keep her to himself, but he knew that he couldn't do that. But every day he found himself falling for her a little bit more. He couldn't help but question what _he _meant to _her._ He'd hoped that she at least felt a little something for him.

He then thought of Cobb. He remembered when they were both young men in the city, simply trying to find a way of living. When Cobb met Mal, he only got happier. Arthur knew that Mal meant everything to Cobb, and as unpleasant being a third wheel was, he loved them both like family. After Mal was murdered, he was heartbroken, but he saw that Cobb was completely shattered, only leaving a shell of a man that once was happy. Grief took over him and made him the angry person he was today. Sometimes, Arthur saw a glimmer of the old Cobb, but it would disappear as quickly as it came, almost as if there was no old Cobb.

A knock on the window alerted him to the presence of Rick and Joey. He unlocked the doors and rolled down the window. He could see there was a look on Rick's face that he couldn't quite understand.

"What's up?" he asked.

Rick looked around his shoulder before answering. "Arthur, he's not here."

Arthur's eyebrows knitted together. "What do you mean?"

"I mean he's not here. He was supposed to be here at 11:30. It's 12:05."

"If he was coming, he'd be here by now," Joey added.

Arthur sighed and ran his palm over his face in frustration. "Well...we can't go back without him, Cobb will be-"

"We can't get him if he's not here," Rick snapped. "Face the facts Arthur, they obviously changed suppliers or they changed the location. You overlooked something."

"Hey, easy," Joey said. "It's a simple mistake."

"No, it's not. He-" Rick pointed an accusing finger towards Arthur. "- Made the mistake. Cobb's gonna be shit angry and I'm gonna get all the blame for it!"

Arthur frowned. "Ok, maybe I overlooked something, but you don't have to get so stressed over it. I'll talk to Cobb, and we'll sort it out!"

"Cobb will understand _you_ won't he?" Rick hissed. "You're his god-damn pet."

"Just shut up and get in the car," Arthur snapped. "We'll deal with this when we get back."

As the two men slipped into the car, Arthur couldn't help but feel uneasy. Something wasn't right, and he couldn't help but feel like Cobb would tear his eyes out for this.


	20. Chapter 20

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION.**

**Guys, if you wanna see the best JGL related thing EVER, then go on my profile and check the link. Seriously.**

**Review please! ALMOST 100 chapters guy, come on, we can do this. 100th reviewer will get something special...I don't know what it is yet, but it'll be good. **

**And I'm proud to say that in the next chapter...I can't say, but it's going to be great.**

* * *

"What do you mean 'He wasn't there'?" Cobb hissed.

Arthur swallowed as he saw the anger in Cobb's eyes. "Well...he just...wasn't there. He didn't turn up."

He watched as Cobb ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Shit."

Eames absent-mindedly let out a low whistle. "Well, looks like we're going to have to come up with a different plan, boys."

"Eames, you know it's not that simple," Michael snapped. "We have no idea when another chance like that is going to come by."

"Alright, well it's not my fault Arthur screwed up."

Arthur snapped his head towards Eames. "I didn't screw up!"

"Well, obviously they decided to do something different, and _you_ were supposed to pick up on that."

"Eames, I swear to god-"

"Can the both of you shut up?" Cobb growled. "Everyone, just calm down. We need to figure this out." He pointed his finger towards Eames. "Eames, talk to Yusuf, find out whether he's hand any contact with Fischer." He moved his arm and pointed it at the man next to him. "Michael, find out if and when we can get one of his guys. I want information exchanges, meetings, anything!"

"What shall I do, boss?"

All heads in the room turned to face the door, where the familar figure was leaning against the door frame.

Cobb crossed his arms over his chest. "Frank. Nice of you to join us," he muttered, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Arthur watched as the man crossed the room towards them.

"Well, I needed some time. After all, my brother was just _murdered_," Frank retorted bitterly. "What did I miss?"

Eames shrugged. "Nothing much. Only the fact that Fischer and Cobb are in a neck to neck battle, whilst Arthur's picked up a lovely little lady and we've come up with a plan to take down Fischer's gang which involved nailing one of his men tonight in the middle of a drug exchange." A smirk spread across his face. "In case you can't tell, we failed miserablly."

Arthur frowned. "Frank...where have you been?"

Frank met Arthur's stare with equal frown. "Well...at home."

Cobb sighed heavily. "Right, we don't have time for this. Arthur, you and Frank go down to the bar and see if you can get lucky and find one of Fischer's guys. Be prepared if you do."

Frank nodded and began walking towards the door, whilst Arthur remained on his spot.

"Wait, Cobb, can't you send someone else to do it?"

Cobb looked at him, clear annoyance in his eyes. "Why? What the fuck are you planning to do?"

Arthur's eyes quickly scanned the room before settling back on Cobb's eyes. "Well...I was going to go and check up on Aria-"

"Arthur, please," Eames sighed. "Tonight's hardly the night for a quickie."

Cobb stared back at Arthur. "Arthur, just go to the bar."

"Look, Cobb, I know it sounds stupid, but I really think something is wrong here. I want to-"

Cobb's fist slammed down on the nearest table, causing the entire room to freeze.

"God damn it, Arthur! Stop this stupid little infatuation!" He yelled. "We have bigger problems right now!"

Arthur frowned. "Don't condesend me, Cobb."

"I can't help it! Arthur-" he said in a deeper tone. "-Stop this, right now. Just leave her."

"Cobb, you know I can't do that!"

"Why are you so focused on _her_ and not the job?"

"Because I don't want to end up like you!" Arthur snapped.

Cobb blinked and the warehouse grew silent.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked quietly.

Arthur exhaled slowly. "...Nothing. I didn't mean anything." He turned and began walking out of the warehouse. "Come on Frank, lets go."

* * *

"You know, I don't mean to press any buttons, but Cobb seems awfully tense about this whole Fischer thing."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Obviously. He's only been waiting for a chance like this for years." He sighed. "Only for me to screw it up."

The two men walked through the streets slowly. Arthur felt deeply frustrated. He knew something was wrong, and all he cared about at that moment was making sure that Ariadne was ok.

Arthur's eyes narrowed as he stared at the ground, his mind heavy in thought.

"Frank..." he said. "...Where have you been for the past few days?"

Frank shrugged. "I told you, grieving." He looked beside him. "Why?"

Arthur didn't look at him. "Well...I just find it a little strange that you've disappeared and then suddenly, Fischer's people seem to avoid doing certain things...if you know what I mean."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" he asked, his voice deep. "'Cause I ain't no fucking rat."

Arthur shrugged. "All I know is that tonight, we failed a job and that for the past few days, you've been nowhere to be found."

"Listen, I-"

"Well, look who decided to show their faces."

Arthur and Frank turned around and stiffened.

"Nash," Arthur growled. "What are _you _doing here?"

Nash smiled slightly and looked Arthur in the eyes. "Don't worry, I won't be here for long. Just delivering a message."

"Which is?"

"...If you and Dominic Cobb have any common sense, then you'll drop whatever little plan you have to take Fischer down," Nash snickered.

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" Frank asked.

"Because...you won't win. You have _no_ idea what you're up against."

Arthur let out a low chuckle. "..Yeah, ok. We'll be sure to keep _that _in mind. Now, the big boys have some work to do."

As Arthur turned to pull out his gun, Nash glared into his back.

"I wouldn't be so cocky if I was you. Mind you, that's probably what attracts that hot little brunette you've been hanging out with."

Arthur froze and turned on his heel instantly, his face written in rage. "What did you say?"

"You haven't kept that secret very well, have you? Everyone knows who you've been screwing-"

Arthur lunged at the man, wrapping his hands around the collar of his jacket and pinning him against the wall in a rush of fury.

"I swear to god Nash, I will tear you apart if _anything_ happens to her."

"Tempting."

"Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you right now," Arthur snapped.

Nash raised his eyebrows. "Neutral territory. You can't touch me." His eyes quickly narrowed. "So I suggest you let me go."

"Arthur, let's just leave him. We'll find someone else to bring to Cobb," he heard Frank say behind him. Arthur continued to stare at Nash for a few moments before roughly releasing him from his grip.

"By the time we walk back here, you'd better be gone. If not, then maybe we won't be so gentle," he muttered, turning his back. "We've got work to do." As he began walking away, he heard from behind him the demonic sound of Nash's chuckle.

"Who said I didn't?" he smirked.

Arthur barely had time to blink before the sound of a gunshot echoed through the street. Within moments, Arthur spun himself anround and wripped out his gun, ready for fire. Any silent exchange of reasoning before had been broken as Arthur's eyes scanned for Nash's figure. Only Nash wasn't there anymore. Disappeared into thin air, as if he was never there. Arthur exhaled in frustration and let his arm fall. He knew Nash was quick. Too quick for his liking.

He frowned into the darkness. "Well Frank, guess we missed another chance...Frank?"

As he looked behind him, his eyes slowly fell to the ground.


	21. Chapter 21

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION. Please review, and we'll be best friends.**

**Quick note- **

**I'm going away for 2 weeks, but I will be back! Hold on my friends- there is _so_ much more to come from this story (angstviolenceromancedrama). I doubt I will be able to update Sweet Dreams or These Little Adventures by the time I leave. Don't worry, I will update as soon as I get back. Haha! Ok, my little sister just walked into the room and said "My water bottle just sneezed." :') good times...anyway, I digress. ON WITH THE STORY!**

* * *

Arthur quickly bent down beisde the blood-stained body, his eyes scanning for the injury.

"Frank?" he asked, his voice brittle and quiet.

Ignoring the soft groan from Frank's shaking body, Arthur quickly lifted the label of his jacket, hoping to find a simple flesh wound and nothing more. To his dismay, the white of his shirt was quickly staining red with heavy amounts of warm blood. The wound was by his chest, and Arthur silently cursed.

"Frank?" he asked again, this time more controlled. "Listen, I have to get you to a doctor's, can you sit up?"

He placed his hands by Frank's shoulder's pulling him up, but quickly lay him down again when a yelp of pain escaped him.

Arthur ran a hand through his hair, now panicked. "Um...ok...I'll call Eames, he can drive down here and-"

"Arthur...don't," Frank wheezed.

Arthur's breaths were quick and ragged as he frantically ran his eyes over the body. "I don't know what else to do," he sighed.

"You don't have to do anything," Frank sighed, his shaking, red hands gripping the fabric of his shirt.

Arthur shook his head furiously. "No. Frank, you're not gonna' die. It's not that bad-"

"Not that bad? Fucking look at me. Of course it's bad."

"Don't worry," Arthur breathed. "We're gonna get you out of this."

"…Arthur," Frank sighed, in a tone that Arthur had never heard him use before. Like he sounded…calm. Arthur locked eyes with him and suddenly felt a wave of something strange run through him. He knew he wouldn't be able to save him, even if he tried all night.

He let his hands fall as he shifted his weight onto the sidewalk, sitting by the bleeding man next to him.

"…You don't deserve this, Frank," he said. "…You shouldn't be dying here. You should die an old man, in your home. Not lying on the sidewalk next to some…killer."

"We're all…killers," Frank panted, forcing a chuckle. He turned his head towards Arthur. "Get him for me, would you? …Nash, I mean."

After a silence, Arthur nodded. "Sure, I will."

"Can I…ask you to do…one more thing for me?"

"Anything."

He swallowed. "...Please don't leave me. I don't want to die alone."

Arthur was silent for a few moments before nodding. As his breathing started to relax and a sense of calm ran over the both of them, Arthur offered a weak smile to the man laying next to him.

He stayed with him. Arthur stayed with him while he silently stopped shaking, and the blood started to dry on his shirt.

Arthur tried to maintain a calm exterior, but in the inside, he was lost. He'd killed before, but this one wasn't his killing. It was his fault, maybe, but the bullet had come from someone else. He and Frank had never been _close_, but damn it, Arthur didn't want to see him die. Looking into the eyes of a dying man made him feel uneasy. He remembered his first kill, and the way Cobb was yelling in his ear about commitment and strength. Arthur never agreed to that, he didn't want this. But it was a job, and he was a desperate man, waiting for his chance to run and do something different.

This buisness was all about the kill and the mess after it. Arthur had tried his hardest only to kill when nessesary and try to stay alive. He'd never sat with a dying person before, and he didn't like it. He became so quiet and ashamed, that it was as if _he _were the one dying.

And eventually, Frank was gone. The lift slipped from his eyes and left nothing behind but the shell of someone he once knew. But Arthur continued to stay with him until the sky clouded over and he began to feel the cold raindrops on his shoulders.

* * *

Cold and shaking, Arthur walked through the hallway quickly, still in shock and with a large amount of guilt swimming in him.

He'd came straight to the hotel, knowning that the only person he'd be able to talk to right now was Ariadne. The only person that he'd be able to listen to.

During the past few hours, he'd come even closer to the realisation that he cared deeply for her. She was the first person in years that he'd completely let into his life. But he wasn't met with anxiety or regret like any other, he simply had taken it as a sign that he should let her in...more. The previous events of the evening just reminded him of how his job could effect things..and people. He'd be damned if he was as careless with her as he was with Frank. No, he would let that happen, never.

He moved along the doors until he found himself at the familiar room number. He knocked on the door quickly and stood in silence. When it opened, he was met by the face of Ariadne, who's eyes widened at the appearence of him.

"Arthur!" she exclaimed. "Wha-...Is that blood? Come in-" She grabbed his arm, pulling him inside. "God, are you alright? Are you hurt? Sit down."

He followed her orders robotically as she disappeared into the bathroom and returned with a hand towel. She handed it to him, but he let it slip from his hand and back onto the bed before standing up to face her, only one thing on his mind. He locked his eyes with her's, and reached forward to gently brush her cheek with his thumb.

She blinked. "Arthur, what are you-"

He silenced her by quickly ducking down and pressing his lips against hers. She remained still for a moment, and Arthur's subconcious screamed accusations at him for going too far, but quickly died down as she melted into him, sliding her hands up his arm and gripping the damp fabric of his jacket. He was a criminal, so he didn't feel _too _out of place stealing something else, especially a kiss from his sweet Ariadne. It was hardly chaste, more forceful and passionate than any other kiss Arthur would share with someone else. He took the chance to take pleasure in memorizing the taste and texure of her lips as they moved against his in complete unison. He pulled her close into his chest, keeping his hands on her back, giving into the urge of simply holding her. Part of him began to think that their bodies were fitting together so perfectly, that they were ment to be kissing right then and there.

Though only a few moments, it seemed like forever until they parted, and even then, he still felt like it wasn't enough.

"...Sorry," he exhaled. "I...That-"

"Took you long enough," Ariadne breathed. She reached forward and pulled him down again, both of them happy at the contact of their lips. His hands found their way into her now mussed hair, his fingers entangling themselves in her brown locks. He felt her hands run along the back of his neck and he found himself completly stimulated under her touch.

She broke away, keeping her face just such a distance that he could still feel her warm breath on his cheek. "You...You need to get...dry," she said in short breaths.

He smiled against her temple. "...Suit yourself."

He let her tend to him, stripping him of his blood covered clothing and helping him dry off. They didn't do anything that night, Arthur knew far too well that she of all people would not want to rush anything with him. No, he didn't want to rush it either, not like anyone else that may have been with her. So they spent the night together, talking and endulging in the occasional kiss. As they grew tired, they fell asleep in each other's arms. It was so perfect, so desired, that Arthur could have sworn that he may as well have been dreaming.

* * *

**Eek! We all love A/A. So that's it for the next 2 weeks guys, but I'll update as soon as I get back. PLEASE review! -MM12**


	22. Chapter 22

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION.**

**Hello lovely Fanatics. Yes, I'm back, and I have a quick announcement.**

**First of all, I'd like to thank you for all the really great comments about this story. 108 reviews is such a landmark for me, and I honestly can't say how much I appreciate your opinions on this story. This leads me onto my next point, which is basically me gushing about how much I love you all. Seriously, I have received so many lovely private messages and notes about how you follow my stories, and how much you guys love the things I write, and I just wanted to thank you for that. Anyway, on with the story! It's going to get juicy soon- I promise!**

* * *

The warehouse was empty, but the thick tension hanging in the air was enough to fill the room. Cobb kicked the ground with his now dirty shoes as he paced around the room. He was a man of plan and power. It's what he needed to keep going. But now, he was feeling out of control, and that unnerved him drastically.

The door opened and Eames entered slowly, just as tired as the rest of them. He looked at Cobb and sighed heavily. "Cobb, you still here?"

Cobb didn't turn to look at him. "I won't be able to sleep without that information," he said, his voice low. "Couldn't find Yusuf, huh?"

Eames shook his head. "Nope. No sign of the bugger. Just as well, probably wouldn't know anything anyway. The lights are dim with that one." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter. A packet of cigarettes soon appeared in his other hand. "Smoke?"

"No thanks."

Eames shrugged. "Suit yourself." He quickly lit one up and took a much needed puff, exhaling the smoke. He looked around the warehouse, noting the missing people. "Arthur not back yet?"

"No." Cobb turned around in the chair to face Eames. "I'm not surprised, though."

"What makes you say that?"

"He's been distracted lately. I don't like it. I guess…" He sighed. "I guess I just wish he'd be more…"

"…Like you?" Eames asked, eyebrow raised.

Cobb nodded in silence.

Eames shrugged. "Cobb, face it. He's not like any of us. He didn't _want_ to be here. He hates the killings, the secrets, the-"

"Then why did he follow me into this!" Cobb snapped. "If he was stupid enough to get involved, then he deserves to be stuck in this! God, sometimes I wish…" He blinked. "…I wish that he'd just walk away."

A silence fell between the two men. Eames eyed up the older man before inhaling another breath of smoke. "No you don't," he said simply.

Cobb looked at him. "What?"

"No you don't. You don't want him to leave for the very same reason that you hired him in the first place."

"Which is?"

Eames smirked. "He's a part of your old life. The only part that you still have to remember what once was."

Cobb sighed. "You sound like a fucking physiatrist."

Eames grew quiet. "Would you believe me if I said that I used to be?"

"…Really?" Cobb asked in disbelief.

It was then Eames let out a quick but loud laugh. "No. Not really," he chuckled.

"Ass," Cobb spat. "And I still don't see your point."

Eames sighed heavily. "Look, Arthur doesn't like doing this. He clings to any aspect of normal life he can get. That includes Ariadne. Forgive him for being a little distracted. For someone who's hearts not in it completely, he does a good job. Even you can admit that."

Cobb remained silent, whilst Eames kept his eyes on him. "Come on Cobb. You remember how you used to be with Mal-"

Cobb's head snapped up, his eyes quickly narrowed. "This conversation is over." He stood up quickly and walked away from Eames, disappearing into the door of his office. Eames exhaled another lungful of smoke.

"Oh well. I tired," he breathed.

* * *

Arthur looked through the window and upon the busy city. He knew that not long from now, the others would find out about Frank's death. Perhaps they would think he was dead too. Maybe this would be the perfect opportunity for his release. He wouldn't have to go back and finish what he didn't want to start in the first place.

_No, I'm not a coward_, he thought. He was many things, but never a coward.

"Are you used to it?"

He turned and was met with Ariadne as she stood behind him.

"Did I wake you?" he asked.

She shook her head. "No." Her arms folded across her chest. "Can you answer my question?"

"I don't really understand it," he replied.

"Are you used to…well, losing people?"

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "No. Not really. But I'm used to killing people," he said quietly, his eyes dropping to the floor.

"I really am sorry…about Frank," she said. "But…I guess I'm kind of relieved at the same time."

"Why?"

She shrugged lightly. "I think I'm just glad that it wasn't you."

He found himself smiling. "…I'm glad it wasn't me too."

* * *

"I know you've had contact with their gang. You must know something," Fischer hissed through gritted teeth.

Yusuf's twisted cry rang through the empty warehouse as his arm was twisted behind him by a man easily three times his size.

"They don't talk to me about their plans!" he cried. "I swear!"

Fischer sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well, I was hoping for a little more co-operation, but I guess I'll have to make do with what I have."

Nash smirked. "Can we fire, now?"

Yusuf's frightened eyes scanned around the room, taking in the twisted faces of Fischer's gang. "Please! I won't say anything!"

Fischer frowned. "Nash, please. We're not barbarians. Have a little more manners towards our guest." He bent down and smiled at the blood-covered man, although it was more forced than anything else. "Now, Yusuf, we've heard great things about you."

"Y-…You have?"

"Oh yes. Word on the street is that your drugs are the best in New York. We can make twice as much if we use your exchange."

Yusuf swallowed.

"However," Fischer mused. "…I don't appreciate the fact that you're working with Cobb. He wouldn't know a good investment if it shot him in the face," he said bitterly. "Now…I'll give you one chance. Move your exchange to us, and things will be much easier from now on."

Yusuf's shaking hands collected themselves into fists. "No. I've heard about you, Fischer. I'd rather work with a maggot ridden corpse than with your team."

Fischer's face remained as stone. "Hmm… You sure about that?"

"I've never been this sure of anything in my life, you stupid little git," Yusuf bit back.

"Very well. I must admit, I respect your decision. Let him go."

Yusuf's hands were freed as he fell to the ground, his face a mask of confusion.

Fischer looked at him for a moment. "…Shame you couldn't find the heart to accept my offer. Now, run along."

Yusuf panted as he scrambled from the ground and ran quickly towards the door. As it slammed shut, Fischer turned towards Nash, his eyes narrowed in anger.

"I want him dead before he reaches the end of the street."

* * *

**I know, very little AA in this chapter, but next chapter, it's basically flooded with AA, I promise. Review please, and hope you enjoyed!**


	23. Chapter 23

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION. (You really should know that by now, but this is just a formal liberty.)**

**Hello everyone! Thanks a million thanks for all the lovely reviews! Now, I have to say, I'm a little on edge at the moment because my laptop is very slow and sometimes the internet takes far too long to load, and that makes me a little scared. So, say a little prayer, keep your fingers crossed and just wish me luck, because if this fails and I can't update….well…it doesn't bear thinking about. Merci, please enjoy and review!**

**This is by far the longest chapter I've ever written.**

* * *

Arthur gripped Ariadne's hand tightly as they walked into the warehouse. As soon as they entered, Arthur knew that he was in deep shit. Cobb stood up and folded his arms across his chest tightly, whilst Eames and the rest of the team glared at him angrily.

"Arthur!" Cobb scowled. "Where the hell have you been?"

"…Nowhere," Arthur answered quietly.

"We thought you were dead, you fuckwit!" Eames snapped. "A little notice might have been nice!"

Arthur felt a smaller hand tighten around his. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"Frank is _dead_, Arthur," Joey said bitterly. "You should have told us."

"Maybe he shouldn't have let it happen in the first place," Cobb muttered.

Arthur's shoulders straightened upright, almost instantly. "Wait-…you think this was my fault?"

"I know it's your fault," Cobb bit back. "If you were more focused on the job, then maybe we wouldn't have lost someone else."

"Cobb, people always die. No matter what we do, we always lose someone. Just because we've lost two people does not mean-"

"Three," Eames interrupted.

Arthur paused. "What?"

"Yusuf's dead. Found him just an hour ago."

As silence filled the room, Arthur ran a frustrated hand through his hair. Ariadne said nothing.

Cobb frowned at the younger man. "Maybe if you'd been working on the job a little more, you'd know this."

"What job?" Arthur spat, catching the attention of everyone in the room, making Ariadne jump slightly in the process. "Cobb, admit it. You don't have a plan. Maybe if you did, I'd have a little more focus, but right now, we're not fucking doing anything!"

"I don't appreciate your lack of respect," Cobb said through gritted teeth, which was quite a frightening sight for the others in the room.

Arthur grew quiet. "I've always had respect for you, Cobb. I've always been loyal."

"Then why stop now? When the time is so important for us?"

"Alright, let's take it down a notch," Eames warned before turning to Arthur. "Look, you may be distracted with other things..." His eyes flickered momentarily to the young woman, who was practically shaking due to the room's tension. "...but right now, we _need_ you. And Cobb-" He turned to the older man, who was rubbing his eyes in annoyance. "-Cut him some slack. He's right. Give us a plan, tell us what to do!"

Arthur felt a tinge of guilt as his watched his lost friend look manically around the room, as if he were bring targeted. Cobb quickly looked down and stared at the ground intently before locking eyes with Eames. "...I...I need to talk with Miles. Gimmie a ride, would you?"

After a blank moment, Eames sighed. "...Ok."

Cobb shook his head to himself as he walked to the door. "Everyone just...just go home. I don't care, anymore."

Silence echoed throughout the room as Cobb stormed out, Eames in tow. As the door slammed shut, a low whistle was let out.

"Well done, Art," Michael muttered.

Arthur fought the urge to lash out as his fist curled. Without turning, he mumbled to Ariadne under his breath, "Come on, let's get out of here."

* * *

"Arthur?"

"Yeah?"

"Eames said that you'd been distracted. Was that my fault?"

He turned to her and shook his head almost instantly. "No, you're not a distraction."

To his amusement, her eyes narrowed in a very scrutinising way. "I don't believe you," she accused, folding her arms across her chest.

"Well, you should." He leaned in and pressed his lips very briefly against her temple. "If you know what's good for you."

She smiled and pushed his shoulders away. "Hey, easy. We wouldn't want to be seen now, would we?"

He quirked an eyebrow. "That's a very good point" He smiled. "I'd like to take you somewhere," he said in a low voice.

"Ok. Where?"

"Oh, wouldn't you like to know," he said slyly. "Here, put this on."

He unknotted his tie and handed her the black fabric. She stared at it blankly for a few moments before wrapping it around her neck.

He chuckled. "No, Ariadne, here." He gently pulled it from her neck and used her shoulders to turn her around. "Close your eyes."

"What? Why?" she asked, most certainly keeping her eyes _open._

He leaned forward to her temple. He became so close than he could almost feel the heat radiating from her cheeks. "Trust me," he whispered. He did not miss the shiver that travelled up her spine. She almost instantly shut her eyes and allowed him to wrap the fabric around her head, creating a make-shift blindfold.

"Come on," he said, grabbing her hand to guide her down the street.

* * *

Cobb ran this hand through his hair, a nervous habit he had. The previous events in the warehouse had not been forgotten. He'd never snapped at Arthur like that before, but what was even more frightening was that he _meant_ it.

"Cobb?" Eames asked from the driver's seat.

"Hmm?"

"I ur...I didn't mean to talk to you like that, back at the warehouse," Eames said, rather guiltily. "I was just trying to-"

"I know. Eames, you were right. I have been too hard on him." He sighed. "I just want to make sure he understands the gravity of the job. I'd hate to lose him."

"I don't know the guy as well as you do, but Arthur doesn't seem like the type of guy to neglect the job completely."

"No, he's not. I just...you know that I recommended Arthur to be in the gang, right?"

"Right."

"And I said I did it because of his skills."

Eames nodded. "He's the best at what he does."

Cobb exhaled before pulling on his seatbelt, which suddenly felt a lot tighter around him. "Well...I didn't just hire him because of that. "

"I would ask why, but I'm guessing you're going to tell me anyway."

Cobb's eyes flickered toward the window. "I selfishly dragged him into something he didn't want to be...I hired him because I missed my best friend."

* * *

Ariadne heard the sound of a door opening before being pulled into a warm room, a nice chance from the cool air outside.

"Stairs," Arthur warned.

She reached up to pull off the tie from around her eyes before Arthur quickly grabbed her hands, preventing her from doing so.

"Nice try. Ever heard the term 'patience is a virtue'?"

"Arthur? Seriously, where are we going?" she asked worriedly, stumbling up a step.

"We're almost there, relax."

"I can't walk anymore, and I don't want to walk up 50 flights of stairs."

An amused smile formed on his lips. "Don't over exaggerate. You'll be fine."

As he gently guided her up the rest of the stairs, he felt her smaller hand grasp around his. He couldn't help but feel flattered at her instinct to trust him.

"Ok, watch your step."

"Is the blindfold necessary?" she asked, sounding slightly aggrivated.

He smiled. "Trust me...it's necessary."

* * *

"Eames, do you mind waiting? I don't plan on being long." Cobb asked, bending down to look at Eames through the window, leaning on the side of the car.

Eames shook his head. "Not at all. Take your time."

After giving him a quick nod, Cobb turned and began walking toward the path. Maybe Miles could settle his restless mind.

As he walked up the cobbled pathway to the black gates, he felt something...different. Like something was out of place. He looked towards the door and noticed that there where none of Miles regular guards, which was odd at this time of day. Perhaps on lunch break?

It wasn't until he walked up to the buzzer that he realised something was wrong. He reached forward to talk on the intercom, but noticed that there was no need. The gates were already unlocked.

Now unnerved, he pushed the gate open slowly, wondering if he should ask Eames to check it out with him. That thought was quickly dismissed as he realised that he had his gun tucked by his waistband. Any ask for help he required only proved that he was weak.

He walked somewhat quickly up to the house, only to be disappointed by more lack of guards. Fearing the worst, he removed his gun in one swift motion and pulled back the safety.

* * *

Arthur swallowed as he began to untie the blindfold from her eyes. "Are you ready?"

A small laugh escaped from her lips. "Well, I'm not sure what for, but sure."

As the fabric was pulled from her eyes, she blinked a few times, adjusting to the new light.

He began to feel abormally nervous as he watched her reaction. He silently congratulated himself for keeping the place clean.

"Arthur….this…"

"Sorry it's not a closer walk. Do you like it?"

Ariadne blinked. "…This is _your_ apartment."

He nodded whilst pulling off his jacket. "Yep."

She appeared speechless. "But you said you never let anyone know where you live."

He turned his head to look at her. "I don't regard you as just anyone, Ariadne."

Her eyes softened when she looked at him. "…Thank you."

"No problem. Drink?"

"No thanks."

He watched as she moved around slowly, clearly out of her comfort zone. He smiled at her awkwardness.

It wasn't overly big, but it wasn't uncomfortably small. The simple decor consisted of smart furniture (well, he hoped it was smart), palettes of dark greens and greys and a few paintings on the wall by various artists. Ariadne could only guess that one or two were originals. It wouldn't be surprising that a man of his position could get a hold of those.

The only thing that really stood out was the view. The thing that pushed him to actually buy the place. Even from the kitchen, the sight of the bright city could be seen with incredible detail. Ariadne looked out the window, her hands pressed against the glass and mumbled something that sounded like _"beautiful" _and _"lucky"_. The only thing that Arthur could think of was how lucky he was to be in the company of someone so beautiful.

He moved toward her before gently placing his hands on her shoulders, turning her towards him.

"Ariadne. I think I love you." He sounded so confident, that he wondered if those words actually came from him.

Ariadne looked at him for a moment. "...You think? Or you know?"

He swallowed. "...I..um...I think I know."

To his relief, she smiled. Then to his horror, she laughed. He let his arms fall as he began to feel incredibly stupid.

His nose wrinkled as he frowned. "You know, this played out a little differently in my head."

"How did it play out in your head?" she asked.

"Well..." He said, letting himself fall onto the bed. "...I tell you I love you, and preferably you would reciprocate it in some way."

He found the air being knocked from him as Ariadne climbed on top of him, essentially pinning him to the matress.

"Ariadne? What are you-"

He was cut off as Ariadne pressed her lips down to his, holding his shoulders down. She pulled away, a sly smirk on her face. He finds that suddenly, his clothing is too hot. Too constricting.

"How's that for reciprocation?" she asked before pushing herself down on him again. He did nothing as their lips crushed together in a rushed frenzy. After pulling away once more, Ariadne stared down at him."Maybe you should respond," she smiled.

As if someone had flicked a switch, Arthur grabbed her waist and flipped them over, earning a squeal from Ariadne. He grabbed her wists and pinned them down against the pillow before leaning right down, almost nose to nose.

"Looks like I have the upper hand here," he smirked.

"It appears you do..." she mused. "...What would you like to do?"

It's then that his grip loosens on her wrists, and he pushes himself down, catching her lips once more. It's different. More heated, more firey. They don't pull away until they both need a breath.

He ran his hand from her wrist to her neck, softly rubbing the skin. "Can I...?"

She nodded and reached up, slowly beginning to unbutton his shirt.

* * *

Cobb slowly moved along the hallway, keeping a firm grip on his gun.

Quickly edging towards Miles office, he looked around and slowly pushed on the door. After no response, he kicked the door open with his foot and ran in, ready to fire. He felt the bile rise in his throat as his arms fell limply.

"Miles?" he asked quietly.

He moved forward to the desk where Miles lay silently. Slowly placing his gun on the desk, he placed his hand on the older man's shoulder, giving it a slight push.

"Miles? Talk to me."

Cobb felt sick. Miles was his mentor, his teacher, and in some ways, a father. As he pushed his shoulder back, turning his body, Cobb found his breath hitch in his throat. The eyes that were once filled with wisdom were now nothing. Cold blue eyes staring back through the pale figure. This was Fischer, no doubt.

"...Please...say something, Miles," he begged.

When no response was given, Cobb sank to the ground and let out a sob. Who would he turn to now? He certainly couldn't go back and tell the team that he was dead. If Miles couldn't stand up to Fischer, how could they?

_"Dom."_

Cobb's head snapped up as he reached for his gun. He froze when he saw the familiar figure.

"...Mal?"

She was just as he remembered her. From her dark brown curls to her loving green eyes that stared right back at him. She smiled lightly.

_"You remember me, Dom?" _she asked.

Slowly and shakily, he placed a hand on the wood of the desk and pulled himself up.

"Of course, baby. I never forgot."

He watched as her eyes flickered from him to the dead body of Miles. Cobb furiously wiped his eyes with the back of his palm.

"Mal...I...I never wanted this to happen-"

_"You know what you have to do."_

Cobb's eyes narrowed. "What?"

She turned to him and smiled wryly. _"...Finish the job. Get Fischer."_

He blinked. "...Mal...I can't!"

_"Of course you can,"_ she assured. _"Don't be a coward, Dom."_

"I'm not a coward," he muttered.

_"Then fight back!" _she snapped. _"Look at what he's done_!" She pointed a finger towards the dead body.

"I don't even have a plan, Mal! Damn it, we have no leads!"

Cobb grew silent as Mal stared at him intently. It made him feel strangly uncomfortable.

_"Look in his hands, Dom."_

Cobb quickly turned and observed the body. As she had suggested, there was a small white piece of paper between his fingers. He looked up once more.

"Mal-" He grew silent as he saw that she was no longer there. After a moment, he reached down and plucked the paper from Miles' hand.

* * *

She moved forward and placed a light hand on his chest, unaware that the exact movement spread pleasant tingles down his spine. He reached over and ran his hand lightly over her face, the pale skin of her cheek feeling soft under his fingers. Neither could hide their smile as they lay tangled in the covers.

"I think you ripped my favourite shirt," he teased.

She shrugged. "That's alright, I prefer you without one."

"I prefer me without one too," he grinned.

"What are we going to do when this is over?" she asked, a hint of sadness in her voice.

He sighed heavily. "Do we have to think about it?"

She nodded. He let his hand fall down to her bare shoulder, where he began to rub circles gently.

"…When we've dealt with Fischer, it'll be safer," he explained. "You can walk away. You don't have to be associated with us anymore." He gripped her arm slightly tighter. "But listen to me. You _can't_ be anywhere near us. You need to completely walk away." He grew quiet for a moment. "…Forget you ever knew me."

"Arthur-"

"I'll give you some money," he said, dropping his arm, the situation making him feel rather deflated. "I suggest you leave New York. Go someplace far." He pushed himself up so he was propped on his elbows."Maybe you could go to Paris. You've always wanted to, right?"

She looked up, her eyes lit with the promise of epiphany. "Perhaps…you could come with me."

"...What?"

"Come with me. When this is over," she insisted. "I know you're not happy, and I can't leave in good conscience knowing that you're going to be stuck like this." She sighed. "You're happy when you're with me, right?"

"Of course."

She blinked. "…You don't want to let me go, do you?"

Arthur swallowed. "No," he admitted.

"Then let's go, together."

Arthur ran through the proposal in his head. No, he did not want to let Ariadne go. It was a very rare a special thing to him, finding someone who he cared for greatly. Not only that, but she clearly cared for him to. For the past few days, the idea of simply sending her on her way when the job was over grew increasingly unappealing. He knew it was selfish, after all, the whole idea of watching her was to keep her safe. Staying together would only defy the purpose. But maybe, if they went someplace else…

A fresh start. The idea settled comfortably in his head.

"You…you don't want to go with me, do you?" Ariadne asked. Arthur couldn't help but note the frightening despair in her eyes as she said this.

"No! Of course I do!" he quickly said. "...Let's do it," he said, grabbing her hands before placing a chaste kiss on her lips.

"You know..." She said as he pulled away. "...I forgot to say it back."

"Say what back?"

She smiled. "...That I think I know I love you too."

* * *

**Hey! Over here! **

**Ok, so I literally just finished watching Inception (epicepicepicness) and I noticed a few things involving Arthur and Ariadne.**

**Firstly, when there's the little sequence of the prep for the job, there's a clip where Arthur and Ariadne have obviously just been under, and the music ends. He wakes up and looks at her in a way that's kind of...odd. Like "...F*ck yeah..." It's hard to explain unless you actually watch that scene. ****ALSO, when the job's over and everyone's in the airport -look closely- As Cobb walks past, you can see Ariadne standing by the luggage claim, and who's that next to her? ARTHUR! They are completely and utterly leaving together, 'cause he bends down and gets her case for her! Just watch!****Last but not least (my sister noticed this one), when they all swim out of the van, Ariadne's sitting on the rocks and Arthur climbs up, bends down to her and says "what happened?" then he sits right next to her. Like RIGHT next to her. **

**...Yeah, I know this observations are a little weird, but I am commited to the AA pairing, and these things just could not escape my mind. Thought I'd share.**


	24. Chapter 24

**DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN INCEPTION.**

**Thanks for all the lovely reviews! I really love reading what you guys think of this story. If everything goes to plan, there should be some action in the next chapter. I'm only planning a few more chapters in this story. I would drag it out a bit more, but I wouldn't want it to get boring. **

**On a completely un-related note, I was watching Inception with my sister yesterday, and she said "I don't know any of the names of the characters." So I lovingly educated her, describing Ariadne as "the one from Juno", Cobb as "the one that I fancy", Eames as "the cool-as-shit British one", and Arthur as "the sexy one in the suit".****...and Christopher Nolan as "THE HOLY ONE"**

**If you're confused about the timing, (as am I, I've been a little careless), then allow me to alaborate. Ok, so, Cobb and Arthur fought at the warehouse at...let's say mid-afternoon. Cobb found Miles in the evening, Arthur and Ariadne spent the night together, leading this to be MORNING! *virtual high fives all round***

* * *

As Arthur walked to the warehouse, he smiled, remembering the events of that morning. He'd woken up with Ariadne's warm figure draped across his chest. Grinning his ass off, he'd spent a good hour or so just watching her sleep. The rise and fall of her body as she slept, and the way her eyelashes fluttered when she stirred. Lacing his fingers through her hair, he thought about the night before fondly. When he decided that it was time for him to go, he'd woken her up slowly and dressed before taking her back to her hotel. He decided he didn't want to bring her to the warehouse that morning, taking into consideration into the fact that Cobb might have still been pissy with him. He didn't want to expose Ariadne to that again.

When he arrived, he noticed something different. Eames' car was parked askew, as if he'd got there in a rush, which was very un-Eames like. Normally he'd walk in as if everyone else was simply early. Picking up his pace, he made sure that the weight of his gun was located at the back of his waistband, fully loaded for trouble. As he walked through the door, he noticed one thing immediately. Everyone was moving. Nobody even noticed his presence as he walked into the rush of the group. As soon as he spotted Eames, he stomped up to him and gave him a confused expression.

"What's going on?"

Eames gave him a brief look before turning back to his task at hand, which Arthur was horrified to see that it was assembling a pistol. "We're getting ready."

"Getting ready for what?"

"I think you should talk to Cobb," was the reply he recieved.

Realising that was the best he would get from Eames, Arthur moved towards Cobb, who was in the corner of the room, talking to Michael in an angry, hushed tone. As soon as he locked eyes with Arthur, he waved Michael off who stormed away.

"Cobb, what's happening?"

Cobb locked eyes with the younger man, placing his hands in his pockets. "Listen, Art-" Arthur found a shock as soon as he heard his old nickname. "-I think I was a little harsh on you yesterday. I've just been so stressed recently with Fischer and -"

Arthur held up his hand to silence him."Cobb, I understand. But this is a two way thing. I know I haven't been on top of my game, and I'd like to make that up to you."

Cobb smiled. "That's perfect. Because we have a lead."

"A lead? Really?"

Nodding, Cobb pulled out a small piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to Arthur, who looked down at the note in disbelief.

_Midnight, Columbus Park. Tomorrow night._

_Armies march by tower and spire, o__f cities blazing, in the fire._

After re-reading the lines again and again, Arthur looked up to Cobb with questioning eyes.

"How did you get this?"

Cobb's face grew grim. "...Miles is dead. I found him last night."

Arthur blinked. _"Miles? _Cobb, I'm sor-_"_

"Forget about it. If they can get to Miles, they can get to anybody. This is our chance."

"What the hell do the last two lines mean?" he asked aloud.

"'Till as I gaze with staring eyes..." Arthur turned to Eames, who was loudly, so the rest of the room can hear. "...The armies fall, the lustre dies. Armies in the Fire, by Robert Louis Stevenson." His eyes flickered to Arthur's with some sense of sympathy. "It's a poem about death."

"It's basically him being cocky," Cobb interjected. "Thinking he can get us. Smug bastard if I ever saw one."

Arthur grew quiet for a moment, ignoring the sounds of guns clicking together and feet walking against the concrete floor around the warehouse. "We're really going to do this?" he asked.

Cobb nodded. "Of course we are."

Arthur felt a tinge of fear growing inside his stomach. Swallowing all emotions down, he handed the note back to Cobb and looked at him, his jaw set.

"What do you want me to do?"

* * *

Arthur spent the afternoon working harder than he'd done in weeks. He knew that Ariadne wouldn't be happy, and truthfully, he wasn't too happy about the situation either. He knew that no matter what the outcome of that night, unnessesary blood would be spilt. But the team had already lost far too much faith in him, and he wasn't prepared to make himself look like a coward. They came up with tactics, plans, worked out who was the fastest, best shot, who'd they'd try and get to first. Cobb suggested that Browning might be there, which was tougher news on the rest of the team, considering that he would no doubt bring his goons, and they were already low on people with all the recent attacks. Eames even put it so elegantly as to say that their deaths were more of an inconvenience than anything else.

Arthur found himself grew more and more anxious as the day drew on, his nervous habits threatening to expose him. Every now and then, his collar would need re-adjusting as not to strangle him, or his shoes would tap impaciently on the floor. After a while, Eames walked up to him and spoke in a hushed tone.

"Mate, you look ghastly."

"Thanks," Arthur muttered.

"Look, it's getting late, why don't you go and find your love buddy. I'll cover for you."

Arthur eyed him suspiciously. "Why would you do that?"

"Because I'm not the heartless prick you think I am," Eames replied, rolling his eyes. "Just go, we'll see you later. Don't be too late."

"Thanks, Eames." Arthur quickly grabbed his coat and made his way to the door, thankfully not getting stopped by Cobb's questioning. As Arthur walked outside, he only found that his stomach turned again. Thick, grey clouds covered the sky, giving Arthur the shivers. It was far too uncomfortable for him. The only thing that gave him solace was the fact that after this evening, things might get better for everyone.

In his opinion, Cobb was far too unprepared. Arthur had always been a man of plans, and the fact that Cobb was making all the plans, something inside him felt a little uneasy. They couldn't afford to be sloppy, not now. He secretly hoped that everything would work in their favour. Winning meant that all the distasteful rivalry would go away, and that he would finally be free of the hateful lifestyle in which they lived. Far too many people had died already for a dirty cause. The worst part was that killing seemed to be the only rightful solution to anything. Arthur often thought that if he had a penny for everytime he'd murdered in cold blood, he'd certainly be a rich man. Before he'd even had time to register that he'd arrived, he walked silently into Ariadne's hotel and strided into the nearest elevator, successfully avoiding the one with the overly large family, and a rather angry looking accountant.

When he reached her floor, he walked directly to her door and knocked on the hard wood. He'd felt relaxed almost instantly when he remembered that it was him and her. Nobody else mattered. Not even Cobb or Robert Fischer himself.

She opened the door and offered him a friendly smile. "Hi."

"...Wanna go for a drink?"

* * *

"You're really quiet," Ariadne said softly, placing her hand on the top of his. "Is something wrong?"

Arthur sighed and sipped the amber liquid in his glass again, before placing it down again on the dark wood of the bar. "No. Well, yeah. Listen," he said, turning himself so he faced her completely. "I have to tell you something."

"... Ok."

"We got a note from Fischer giving us a place to meet. We're going to try and intercept them tonight." He grew quiet. "Cobb's planning to kill Fischer."

Ariadne's eyes grew wide. "Really? You're going?"

"Yep," he replied, tapping his fingers on the wood of the table. "Have to."

Her eyes narrowed. "You really have to? Or you feel you have to?"

"Geez, Ariadne, I don't know," he sighed. "The way I see it, it's my ticket out. As soon as we finish this job, I'll be able to leave Cobb guilt-free. We'll be able to leave, and there'll be no more risks."

They both knew she had nothing to say to that, as she simply sighed and looked down into her glass, her index finger trailing around the rim absent-mindedly. Arthur found her to be quite infuriating. Why was it that when he was completely set on something, a simple look from her could make him feel so guilty. No, he would not be swayed on this. The end result would be completely worth it, and she would be thanking him when they were both on their way to Paris. In the meantime, while they were so close, he couldn't be swayed by this temptress.

It was at that moment, when a tall, arrogent looking man walked up behind Ariadne, his face swimming in confusion. Arthur watched him, half intreged to see what he was up to. He stood beside Ariadne with an air of confidence that was very off-putting.

"Hey, don't I know you?" he asked, looking Ariadne over in a very scrutinising way that Arthur didn't appriciate.

Ariadne turned her back apruptly and hid under her hair. "...No."

"No, I have. I swear..." His eyes grew wide. "I remember. I _hired _you just a few weeks ago to-"

"Please leave me alone," Ariadne quietly pleaded. "I don't-"

"Are you busy? 'Cause I have some cash I could- "

Arthur shot his head around his shoulder. "Hey, she's with me."

The man looked Arthur over once before turning his attention back to Ariadne. "Oh, right. I understand. Well, maybe when you're done, we can-"

Arthur didn't sit still to hear anymore. He jumped from his seat and sent a flying fist into the man's jaw, effectively shutting him up. Ariadne yelped as the man fell against the table. Arthur reached forward and grabbed his shirt collar, yanking him up towards his face.

"Listen to me," he spat. "I don't know who you think she is, but if I ever hear of you talking to her like that again, the cops will find your body in the sewer. Got it?"

He recieved a shaky nod. Arthur released his grip on the man's collar and watched him stumble towards the door.

"Sorry about that, Aria-" Upon realising that Ariadne was no longer at the table, he turned and looked around multiple times. Feeling a slight panic arise in his stomach, he walked swiftly through the crowds of people and began walking towards the exit.

* * *

When he'd spotted the petite brunette striding down the street, he'd ran after her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Look at me."

When she turned, he saw that she had tears streaming down her face, causing her make up to run. She sniffled and turned to walk away again, before he started walking beside her.

"Ari, that guy was a complete dirtbag, just-"

She snapped around and shot him a cold look. "I know, Arthur! But what about the next guy, and the next one, and the-"

He silenced her by placing his hands on both sides of her face. "Hey, calm down."

After letting a few sobs escape her lips, she fell forward and let her head rest on his shoulder, her body shaking with tears. He said nothing, just rubbing soothing circles on her back until she grew silent.

"It's ok. We're leaving soon, then you won't have to deal with this anymore," he assured, before kissing her hair lovingly.

She suddenly pulled away. "Please, _please_, let's go now."

He blinked. "What?"

"Let's go now. You don't have to be there. Let the others deal with it. You _promised_ we would go to Paris," she said, her voice begging.

He frowned, beginning to develop an aggitation. "You know that I have to do this, why are you being so childish?" As her shoulders fell, he suddenly felt guilty.

"...I'm just trying to convince you not to do this," she muttered.

"You know what this means to us. Everything will be better once this is over." He grabbed her hands and squeezed them gently. "I have to go. Listen," Reaching into his pocket, he revealed a key, which he pressed into her palm. "Go back to my place. Start packing the essentials." Placing his hand on the small of her back, he started walking with her. "Under the bed, there's a safe. The code is 528491, and in it, there's a gun and some cash. As soon as you've finished, go back to your hotel and wait for me. Do **not** move from there. I will come and get you, okay?"

She was quiet, folding her arms across her chest. "Are you sure this is what you want to do? Take part in a fight that isn't yours?"

After a moment, he nodded. "...Yes."

"...Fine," she sighed, clearly defeated.

Seeing the stress and hurt in her expression made him desperately want to avoid the waiting events of the night. He leaned forward painfully slow and brushed his lips against hers in a ghost kiss. A kiss that soon turned into something more demanding when she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling them closer together. They fitted perfectly together, and he couldn't help but run his hands down her back, memorising every curve and contor. She gripped onto his arm tightly, the racing of her heartbeat making her feel slightly dizzy. There was no friction, only the warmth between the two people, willing to share every fibre, every secret with each other. Neither parted until their lungs were burning for oxygen, and even then, a few more ghost kisses and pecks were shared and exchanged.

She sighed after pulling away. "...Good luck." She placed one more kiss on his cheek and lingered for a moment before leaning over to whisper in his ear. "I love you."

* * *

Hi everyone, thanks for reading. Sorry if this chapter hasn't been up to my normal standards. I kind of feel like my writing's slipped a bit recently due to the combination of **lack of spare time, health problems and various other things.** But things should return to normal within the next week, so updates should be less sporadic. The next chapter of this story will be updated within the next week or so, because I'm really going to work hard on the next chapter. Sweet Dreams and Conviction should also be updated as soon as I've finished them. Many thanks for holding on and reviewing!

I promise action in the next chapter. It's the big confrontation.


	25. Chapter 25

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION. **

**Many thanks to those who reviewed the previous chapter. You've probably noticed that I'm missing a chapter, (completely my fault), and I will try and replace that as soon as I have the chance. Very very busy as the moment. **

**Regarding this story, please review- I'm really excited. It's nearing the end.**

* * *

_Ariadne. Ariadne. Ariadne._

Arthur's head pounded the words like a jackhammer. Ever since he was a child, his way to suppress sad or frightening thoughts was to entertain his mind with something happier. Regardless, he still felt sick. It didn't help that he was crammed into a car with several others. Eames drove as he sat in the back, shoulder to shoulder with his other anxious teammates. Cobb sat in the front, quietly talking with Eames about the upcoming event. If Arthur hadn't been so unnerved, he may have felt a slight tinge of jealousy about the amount of attention Eames was getting. He would never understand the petty, childish rivalry between them. Eames made a point in tolorating him, saying that he was his 'younger, slightly nerdy brother'. But Arthur had hoped that they wouldn't lose another member that night.

Perhaps it was the lack of timed planning, or perhaps it was his brunette distraction, but Arthur felt more unprepared than he'd ever felt in his life. But his job required a certain facade, an air of confidence that Arthur had adjusted to pulling off when necessary. Something that Cobb had taught him from a young age.

_A young man, no older than Arthur lay on the gound, his arms wrapped around his knees, shivering. Cobb stood above him, his face stony. Arthur had never seen his friend like this before. He watched in horror as Cobb pulled back and brought his fist down onto the man's face with a sickening crack. Soon, blood was running down the man's face and clothing._

_"You sneak," Cobb hissed. "I told you not to give away our whereabouts."_

_"S-...Sorry. I had...they paid me...I didn't know what-AH!" A sickening crack echoed throughout the room as Cobb snapped the wrist of the shaking man. A small, but powerful bend of the wrist. He quickly grabbed a handful of the man's hair tightly._

_Arthur winced. "Cobb, calm down, please."_

_Cobb turned to him, his eyes burning. "This is what you have to do, Art. Break 'em down until they..." He slammed the man's head down on the concreate ground. "...Crack. Never take any crap from any of them.__" His eyes narrowed. "Miles told me that betrayal and loyalty are two of the biggest factors in our buisness."_

_"But, Cobb! You aren't Miles!" Arthur cried. "You're Dom Cobb! My best friend, Mal's loving husband! What happened to you?"_

_"First of all, Mal has nothing to do with this," Cobb snapped. "And I didn't change. I just got better." He reached behind him and pulled out a gun, his eyes set on the target. He aimed at the quivering man and pulled back the safety. Arthur turned his head, unwilling to see the damage upfront. He waited for the sound. When nothing happened, he looked over, to see Cobb facing him. _

_"...You do it."_

_Arthur looked at the gun in terror. "What? No!" _

_Cobb thrust the gun forward. "Now. Do it." Arthur was speechless. Surely his beset friend, of all people, wouldn't force him to do this. But Cobb stared at him in icy glare. _

_"Prove your loyalty."_

_Arthur remained still for a moment, his chest rising and falling rapidly. His morals and ethics were being held out in front of him, all in the shape of a fully loaded pistol. Taunting. His mind screamed at him not to do it, but knowing Cobb well enough to know that he wouldn't back down, he swallowed and reached forward. Cobb thrust the gun into his hands and stood back, his stare boring into Arthur, who slowly raised his arm. _

_The man was shaking frantically. "P...please. Don't-"_

_"Do it Arthur. If this is your future, you might as well get used to it," Cobb said bluntly._

_Arthur avoided eye contact with the man, knowing that whatever look he gave him would haunt him forever. Every dream, every nightmare._

_"DO IT!"_

_He pulled the trigger, quickly turning his head towards Cobb. Hearing the slump of the body hit the ground, Arthur looked at Cobb, his eyes brimming with pure hatred for what he had been just forced to do. _

_Arthur wasn't sure what was worse. The fact that he'd just killed for the first time, or the fact that Cobb was giving him a proud smile._

"Arthur? You alive back there?"

Arthur looked up from the ground of the car and caught eyes with the man himself. He looked towards Cobb and gave him a weak smile.

"Hmm?"

Cobb, not missing a thing, pulled a face. His brow furrowing, he leaned closer toward him. "Are you ready for this?"

Arthur frowned. He didn't ask if he was alright, or if he was okay with it. He was simply asking him if he was ready for the inevitable chaos that was about to happen. Arthur turned away and nodded. "Yes," he answered simply.

"Are you sure? We can't afford for you to be distracted. Not now, not when we're this close."

Arthur snapped his head forward. "Right now, _you're_ the only thing that's distracting me."

Silence. His face blank, deprived of any emotion, Cobb turned back and leaned in his own chair. Arthur grew silent in response. He remembered when he was younger, his older brother used to read to him. Catcher in the Rye to be exact. Arthur (a curious child) often wondered why Houlden Caulfield ran into the city, when he was supposed to go home to his family. Why abandon the obvious path for himself? Now, he envied him. Arthur wished that he could disappear at that moment, just as quickly and slyly as Caulfield did. The appeal of something completely different was so deliously appealing at that moment, that Arthur wondered whether he should just open the door and jump out the car. A few cuts and bruises perhaps, maybe a broken bone or two. But his moral integrity seemed far more delicate at that moment.

As the car rolled to a stop, Arthur felt ashamed. Why tonight, of all nights, was he questioning his ability to perform well for the team. It never seemed to bother him this much before. Maybe it was the fact that this was one of the biggest jobs that he'd done, or maybe it was that this job was just as much for every other man on the team. Or maybe it was the fact that a lovely, brown eyed woman was waiting for him. Regardless, Arthur knew what he had to do.

Deal with it.

He swallowed and wiped his face of any visible emotion. As Eames stepped out of the car, Arthur followed suit. He didn't realise how hot and uncomfortable he was feeling until he stepped into the cool air, the cold wind instantly refreshing.

Cobb turned and looked over the hood of the car. "Good luck, boys."


	26. Chapter 26

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION.**

**Oh my god, I'm so nervous about this chapter. Please review and let me know what you think! JESUS CHRIST, I'm shaking as I type! **

**Good luck, everyone. Let's hope we can get through this together. The end is near.**

**I will love you forever if you review this chapter- kind of poured my heart and soul into this.**

* * *

Arthur hated the concept of fate.

The lack of control in your own life.

The way things were 'decided' for you, and how you couldn't do a god damn thing to change it.

He remembered it vividly.

They'd gone out for dinner, the family. His father, his mother, and his baby brother, Adam. They were celebrating his father's promotion at work. It was supposed to be a happy occasion. But 'supposed to be' never was. It was late when they drove back, and he was tired. Falling asleep in the car, he could remember the sound of his parent's voices, discussing plans for Arthur's birthday. Party. Balloons. Cake. But none of that ever happened. They were only half way home, and the roads weren't too crowded for a Wednesday night. His father, the driver, had taken a left turn, and collided with an oncoming cab.

Arthur was thrown from the car. Almost 15 feet. His head had hit the pavement, and he only had time to smell the gas on the road before being blinded by a burning blaze, soon consumed by smoke, nearly killing him. When he woke up, he was in the hospital, he was surrounded by doctors, police, almost every possible person to inspect him. They'd told him what happened.

It was a getaway car chase down the road, which happened to be on the same street his father was going down at that exact time. Not a second later, not a minute before. The exact same time. The two cars had collided, and Arthur's seat belt was just loose enough that he was flung from the car. It had flipped a moment later. Had he not been thrown, he would have certainly been killed. Traumatised by the ordeal, a young Arthur asked to see his parents. A stern cop told him that his parents had died in the later combusion. His little brother too.

That's why he hated the concept of fate. Because if there really was a plan for everyone, then why the hell would a nine year old boy deserve to have his family killed? The memories haunted him. The screaming pedestrians, the feel of broken glass beneath his face, the firey heat burning behind him. It was all reminders that the one group of people who were never supposed to leave him, were taken away. In what kind of messed up world should that be allowed to happen?

His fate, was complete and utter loneliness.

* * *

The cold breeze of the night had chilled the grass underneath his shoes, which crunched slightly with every step he took. The weight of his gun felt heavy on his waistband, a weapon that would surely be empty by the end of the night.

He stood by Cobb, who was silent. He was his back-up, his shadow, his point man, his number two. If there was anytime for Arthur to prove that, it was tonight.

Eames was heavy on his tail, followed by the others, each one supplied with a weapon that threatened to kill if necessary. It was dark, but near by streetlamps filled the park with enough light just to create a shadow for each man, stretching across the ground. It was quiet, much more quiet than it should have been. Not even the rustling of trees distrupted the silence. Arthur saw the sky to be an ugly black, with thick grey clouds floating ahead. Rain clouds. Just to add insult to injury.

Cobb stopped dead in his tracks, quickly stuffing his hands into his pockets. Arthur hung by his side.

"Here," Cobb stated. "We'll wait here."

Arthur nodded and stood paciently by his side. Now, they -he- couldn't be fallible. It was too late for mistakes. Everything hung on their shoulders now, and they would either leave as winners, or not leave at all. He tried to persuade himself into motivation, picturing Ariadne's beautiful form as they'd spent the previous night together. Reminding himself of what (who) he was doing this for. He was all but tempted to shut his eyes and remember the way she'd looked from underneath him. The way she'd cried his name. Exploring each other's bodies in ways that couldn't, shouldn't be possible. But he couldn't. He could only focus himself on the current predicament, on what was at stake.

He'd trained himself over the years to switch on and off like a light. From professional to emotional. But it became harder, and somehow, the switch started to fade as the two beings of Arthur blended together. Tonight, seemed to be the hardest. Maybe it was the fact that the job was just as much for anyone else on the team as well as himself. Or maybe it was the fact that the freedom he'd been dreaming of for years was riding on this job. Regardless, he knew that he had to deal with it like the man he was forced to be. If blood had to be shed, then that was that.

The sound footsteps on the ground alerted Arthur to another presence. Hovering his hand over his gun, Arthur stiffened and waited. Stepping out as if from nowhere, Fischer appeared several feet before them, his goons right behind. Including Nash, who send Arthur a small smirk as he waited in Fischer's shadow. Arthur kept his focus on Fischer, waiting for any movement that would treaten the safety of his boss. Cobb, however, seemed calm as he could be.

His cold blue eyes studied them for a moment before sending a chilling smile towards them. Obviously spending time perfecting his calm shell, Fischer looked at Coob, seemingly without fear.

"Glad you showed up," he grinned, a slight sardonic twist in his expression.

Cobb kept his face stony, and took a deep breath before he spoke. "We're not cowards. Unlike some people I can name..."

"I'd watch my mouth if I were you, Cobb," Fischer interrupted. "It can get you into a lot of trouble."

"Let's just get this over with," Cobb returned with a growl, opening the front of his jacket slightly, where his gun was kept safely. Arthur hovered close behind.

Fischer held his finger up, freezing Cobb with the single move. "Ah, I'd wait if I were you. There's someone I'd like to add to this party."

Arthur frowned. "We don't appreciate ambushes."

Shrugging lazily, Fischer placed a hand inside his pocket. "It's not so much an ambush, more of a...family reunion."

Within moments, several of Fischer's men had shifted slightly. Even they seemed to be uncomfortable with the situation. The figure of Peter Browning stepped forward. Like Fischer, his eyes were cold and lifeless, aimed to kill. Behind him, a few new men followed tail. Not bothering to keep count any longer, Arthur realised that the job had quickly become more dangerous and difficult than any of them wanted. Whether they liked it or not. Arthur held back the urge to curl his lip at the older man. He could see Cobb silently unwrap, taking a very small step backwards. But Fischer caught the movement, and grinned.

"Scared, now?" he asked, his voice taunting.

Eames made a small sound at the back of his throat, sounding like a chortle. "Scared? Of what, him? He must be...what, a hundred?"

Arthur could have slapped him for sounding so cocky. But he remained still as Browning stepped forward and mumbled something under his breath to Fischer. It was very low, so much that Arthur couldn't catch what he'd said. The expression forming on Fischer's face told him that it wasn't particularly pleasant. Fischer turned to him, speechless, before stepping back and allowing Browning to take the lead.

There was something about the older man that made Arthur very uncomfortable, more so than usual. He was subtle, yes, and rarely said much. But his presence was so powerful, so frightening, that it was just enough to make anybody want to run for the hills. His cold eyes flickered from man to man, thankfully, only landing on Arthur for a second or two.

Then he spoke. "Nice to see you again, Cobb," he said. His voice was deep, devoid of any emotion. His eyes clicked with Cobb's and Arthur wondered how he could stand his ground with such evil looking eyes bearing into him.

Cobb, unwavering, gave the man a small scowl. "I wish I could say the same."

"I hear you've been giving my godson trouble," Browning continued, seemingly unaware of Cobb's previous statement. "I was hoping to change that tonight."

"Well, it's either us," he replied, pointing behind him to his waiting team. "Or them." Turning his hand so he was pointing at Fischer, Cobb's face remained as stone, his jaw tight. "They've worked on our territory more than enough times, and we've given them plenty of chances. They've stolen our jobs, disrupted our exchanges...and we're fucking sick of it."

"All for fun and games," Fischer said, wearing a sly smirk.

It was then that all the control Arthur had been holding was slipped. A sick feeling of bile grew at his digust. "Fun and games?" Arthur echoed, bitterness in his voice. "Innocent people have died_, _Fischer! More than enough blood has been shed over your mistakes! Tony? Frank? Yusuf? Ring any fucking bells?"

From out of his eye, Arthur saw a familiar head look up. Nash.

He stared at Arthur, his eyes full of self-arrogence and hate. "'Bit hypocritical, if you ask me," he said, his voice alone enough to set a fire in Arthur's veins. "Considering you've taken more lives than any of us can count."

"I do it because I have to," Arthur retorted. "I don't murder for a little thrill."

"You'd kill me for a thrill, you ignorant-"

"Enough," Browning snapped. The sound of his voice raised was enough to sucessfully unnerve Arthur. "Robert, I told you to keep them quiet." He looked at Cobb once more, his look more hateful than the last time. "I know that you've tried to do the same to them as well. Ambushing exchanges, I believe."

Arthur looked up, his head replaying Browing's previous words, one thought playing again and again. How did he know about the ambush plans?

"Doesn't matter," Cobb replied quickly. "We did that out of defence. Besides-" he said, folding his arms. "- Fischer seemed to take care of himself. Sucessfully moving the exchanges from our path. You see, we stick to the rules. We don't go on other's territory."

_Fischer moved the exchanges out of our path,_ Arthur repeated to himself. _He must have known what was coming. _Cursing himself for being so unobservant to a key fact, Arthur tried to catch Cobb's eyes. The older man, however, kept his eyes on Fischer.

Fischer chuckled. It was without humour, without happiness. An empty laugh of sarcasm and dirty joy. "The funny thing is, you are so fucking clueless!" he laughed dryly.

Cobb's eyes narrowed. "...What makes you say that?"

"You think you're so smart. So god-like in your power. When in fact, you're missing the information from right under your nose." Fischer leaned forward on his heels, his voice turning low. "How do you think we knew to move our exchanges? Hmm? How did we know you were coming?" His voice was taunting. Mocking.

_But that means..._Arthur blinked. _We have a rat._

Cobb was silent for a moment, his eyes scanning Fischer's face. For what, Arthur didn't know. But he must have found what he was looking for, because soon, Cobb stepped back, recoiling almost.

"...You knew. You knew what our plans were." He turned to the others, his eyes wide. "...Someone...leaked."

As trained, Arthur's head ran instantly through their plan-making process. It wasn't him, and it certainly wasn't Cobb. It couldn't have been Eames, he's been with either Cobb or himself the whole time.

"Now you catch on. A little late, Cobb, don't you think?"

It wasn't Frank, as he wasn't around when they even made the plans. Couldn't have been Joey or Rick, because we was with them when they did the job. Mickey was forever getting pissed and making jokes with Eames, and Eames would have noticed a distinct absence in the man. That just left turned and caught eyes with the man in question. But it wasn't him. It couldn't have been him. His eyes were so full of shock, so full of confusion, that any accusation Arthur held to him faded instantly.

"Even I was impressed," Fischer continued. "Never been more impressed with a rat's work."

Then it must have been someone on the outside. Someone who had full access to their planning and secrets.

Someone who'd found a way in.

Easy access.

"I was surprisingly pleased with _her_ performance."

It clicked then. Like a power cut. Like a sudden storm. Arthur looked up to Fischer, who was now staring at him in taunting glare. Everything fitted together just then. Somebody he'd been stupid enough to share secrets with...Someone who'd been with him for enough time to learn their plans...Someone to...distract him.

**No.**

Fischer turned his head over his shoulder. "Oh, sweetheart?" he called.

**No. No. No.**

Arthur was numb. Unable to move, unable to speak.

**Not her. Anyone but her. **It **couldn't** have been her. She **wouldn't.**

In a split second, Arthur had everything lying on a table in front of him. He hoped, he wished, he prayed that he wouldn't see what he was about to see. Pure fear shot through his body as he saw Fischer move aside.

But the odds were not in his favour. Hundreds and thousands of women living in the city, but no. It was her. Of course it was her. It was unmistakable. The brown curled hair slung slightly below the shoulders, petite but beautiful, large brown eyes that were now red rimmed stared at the ground. Biting her bottom lip, the shivering figure fell into Fischer's tight grasp of the arm.

Slience. Complete silence.

Arthur's heart thumped so loudly, for a moment, it was all he could hear. Except it didn't feel like it was beating. No, it felt destroyed. Shattered. Ripped apart. Beating inside nothing but a tin can, echoing from deep within his chest up to his ears, deafening him with it's outragous thumping.

She betrayed him. Not just him, but the team. He said he'd protect her, keep her safe. Love her. That all seemed like a distant blurry memory now fading.

His throat was instantly dry. "Ar-...Ariadne?" he breathed, his voice so quiet, he could barely hear himself.

She didn't look up, and he was glad. How could he possibly ever look her in the eyes again? Her mouth opened slightly, and it was a few moments before she managed to say just a few words.

"...I'm so sorry, Arthur."

It was too late for apologies. His heart had well and truly broken. Never to be fixed.


	27. Chapter 27

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION.**

**WOW, what a response! I know you all probably hate me for doing that to Arthur, but wow! Thanks so very much for all the reviews, and all the PM's regarding the chapter. Really means a lot. Sorry about all the problems with reviewing. Everything should be good now. And sorry for the rather large delay on this chapter, but I wanted to work on it as much as I could before releasing it.**

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There was nothing Arthur could do apart from look away. A feeling of utter stupidity and bitterness washed over him. Of course it was her. It was always her. But he'd becomes too distracted, too consumed by the idea of love and lust to even consider that his lovely Ariadne might in fact be a problem. His teeth gritted together, his anger creating an ugly feeling in his heart. He wanted to run, to yell, to hurt someone. His hands twisted into fists by his side, while he screwed his eyes shut as tight as he could.

It was all too obvious now. Nobody for the past few years of his life even wanted to go near him. It just so happened that he met a lovely woman during the most important time for their gang. How could he be so stupid? He single-handedly managed to reveal their plans to the enemy, practically feeding information through Ariadne. She played it well, he thought bitterly. He'd been perfectly fooled. He could only imagine what everyone thought of him now. Idiotic. Weak.

"What's wrong, Arthur?" Fischer asked, his mocking voice irritating to Arthur's ears. "Not feeling betrayed, I hope."

A heavy sigh from beside him reminded Arthur of Cobb's presence. "Oh Arthur..." he sighed. "...I told you not to bring her..."

Arthur blocked out Cobb's words. Didn't the man have any tact? Any sympathy? He continued to squeeze his eyes tighter together until little coloured dots blurred across his vision. He was hurting, all over it seemed.

Finally, after what seems like hours later, he manages to gather enough strength to speak. "...That's why you wanted to be with me," he sighed, his eyes remaining shut for another moment, before he opened them, avoiding any contact with hers. He decided to settle for staring at the tips of his shoe. "...You wanted information. Well congratulations, you've got it," he spat.

Despite the way he was avoiding her gaze, he could still hear the quietness of her voice. "Arthur, I never wanted-"

"To hurt me? Well, you did."

"Oh come on, Arthur," Fischer said, a slight tease in his voice. "Surely you must have something better to say than that?"

If he were truthful with himself, Arthur knew that he did have much more to say. He needed to let out what he could. The feeling of humiliation and heartbreak were far too forceful for him to keep buried inside. Gathering his strength, he inhaled sharply and raised his head, finally meeting eyes with the cause of his newly formed hate. Catching her brown eyes, he shuddered, remembering when he'd last looked into them, it was a look of sweetness. Now, the contact between them seemed empty.

"You...you bitch." He was shocked by his own words, and the look of hurt on her face was enough to bring him to guilt, but he continued. The hurt and hate in his chest formed an ugly snarl on his face, his own body being self-contorted by the anger that he was now holding. "I...I loved you. I trusted you."

She shook her head, pooled in self-regret. "I know, but-"

"All that, all we had...was a lie?" he muttered. "...I risked my own life to protect you."

Shaking her head, Ariadne tried to catch Arthur's eyes, but he turned away, defiant. "I never lied to you," she replied. "I loved you. I still do. That wasn't bullshit." Her voice was insistant.

"If you really loved me, then you would have said something," Arthur spat back. "I could have helped you, I tried to protect you."

"I didn't want to get this involved!" She weakly defended herself. "I thought it'd be easy! I didn't have a choice!"

"You didn't have a choice?" he repeated. "That's a weak excuse, Ariadne."

"He said he'd kill me!" she cried. "He told me that if I didn't do it, he'd kill me and hurt you anyway."

Arthur could do nothing but drop his eyes from hers, and look towards Fischer in cold glare.

"You know what, Arthur? I do feel a little bad," Fischer sighed, with overwhelming-fake sympathy. Arthur had to refrain himself from hitting him in that lovely painful area between the eyes. "After all, you two had a lovely story. The mobster and the prostitute, both outcasts of society. I do have some sympathy, really, truly, I do." A sly grin spread across his face. "Just for that, I'll let you take the first shot..."

Fischer placed his hand behind his back, and then produced a gun. Sending Arthur a small smirk, he gently threw the weapon towards him. Arthur caught it quickly between his hands, and let his eyes fall to the object. He knew what Fischer meant. Revenge. Get her back for breaking his heart. The weight of the gun felt heavy in his hands. Could he really? It would only take one shot.

"Arthur...please," Ariadne quietly begged.

"You know you want to. It would be too easy..." Fischer's voice was taunting. Tempting.

Arthur felt sick. Sick at the fact that he was considering such a murderous thing. He was a killer, yes, but Ariadne was innocent. And he could never hurt her, let alone kill her. He knew deep down, that Ariadne would never do something like this from her own decisions. Sighing, he let his shoulders sink.

"No." He dropped the gun to the floor, hitting the ground with a small thud.

"Arthur?" Cobb asked, his voice laced with confusion.

Arthur shook his head. "I'm not going to hurt her, because I know that she didn't do this out of her own free will." He looked towards Ariadne, and let his face soften. "I believe you. You hurt me, but as stupid as it seems, I still love you. I can't seem to make myself hate you."

Ariadne bit her bottom lip, her hands trembling. "I'm so sorry. I tried to get you to leave, to stop you from coming here...but you were never going to just walk away. I should have known."

"You should have told me. I would have stopped this."

"I know, I'm so sorry, I can't-"

"You're a victim of target, Ariadne," he said softly. Turning, he pointed an accusing finger towards Fischer. _"You _made her do it._"_

Fischer nodded. "But my plan was never as good as this. But I had to find a way to get inside, to get under the skin of one of you. It happened by chance really, didn't it, my sweet?" Arthur tried to swallow down the bile quickly rising in his throat as Fischer ran an affectionate finger down Ariadne's cheek. Ariadne flinched in return. "She's not cheap, but she's worth every penny. But you would know, wouldn't you?"

Swallowing down his outrage and disgust, Arthur tried to hide his persistant anger. The thought of Fischer and his Ariadne was enough to make him sick.

"...Oh yes, she was difficult to convince at first...but after a little persistance, she was well on board."

"By persistance, you mean threat," Arthur spat back.

Fischer smiled. "Of course. But the tricky part was finding out who to fool. It couldn't be Cobb, because he _still _isn't over Mallorie, are you?"

Arthur looked toward Cobb, who stared directly back at Fischer, his expression not fading from it's stale exterior.

Fischer smirked, and continued. "Thought not. I was considering you, Eames, but it wasn't quite a perfect match." Turning back to Arthur, he gave him a small smirk. "Then low and behold, I discover Arthur. Uncommited, neglegant, innocent Arthur. It was wonderful," he grinned. "The rules were simple. Get in, get him to fall for her, get the information, and get out. But that's where it gets really brilliant. Because she actually goes and _falls in love _with him," he said in a mocking voice.

"I tried to get out of it, Arthur. I swear," Ariadne desperately persisted.

After silence echoed between them, Cobb errupted in a small snorting sound behind Arthur. "Well, Browning, there you go. You got us here. You insisted on ruining two perfectly good people's lives. Now what? Stand by while we kill your godson and your team?"

Browning shugged lazily, his eyes flickering from Fischer to Cobb. "Not at all. In fact, I plan to help you join your...dear wife very soon." His eyes flickered toward the younger man. "Tell me, are you still lonely?" he asked, almost gently.

Cobb's eyes were dangerous at the mention of his wife. "You have no right to talk about her," he spat in return.

"Do you miss her more than you can bear?" Browning's voice was taunting. His face an evil smirk. "Do you picture her eyes...her hair...her lovely singing voice? Do you miss the way she spoke to you?"

"Stop it."

"I remember the first time I heard her speak. In fact, I recall her screaming. Begging for mercy..."

Cobb's head snapped up, his eyes narrowing. "...What the fuck are you talking about?"

"...Begging for me not to kill her."

For Cobb, everything managed to fit into place. He looked at Browning, his eyes wide with realisation. The older man only stared back at him wearing a disgusting grin, completely satisfied with the pain he was causing.

"You_...you_ killed my wife?_" _Cobb asked, his voice trying to hold together without breaking.

"It was, as they say, nothing personal, just business."

Arthur looked over to Cobb, who was now staring intently at the ground. His jaw was set, and his nostrils flared in anger as his breaths came out in short puffs. Arthur felt nothing but sympathy for the man, who had spent years mourning the loss of his love. Never before had Cobb appeared so broken.

"You killed Mal?" he repeated, his voice dangerously quiet. His eyes fell down to his hand, which was gripping his weapon tightly. Arthur watched as he inhaled deeply and bit his lip.

He finally spoke. "...Then I guess I'm going to have to return the favour." He paused, staring down at his gun, and chuckled. A dry, emotionless laugh. "You know what you are, Browning? A coward. A lying, weak, idiotic fucking coward," he spat. "You think you've won? You've won nothing. You think that killing and kidnapping perfectly honest people is smart?" Composing himself, Cobb inhaled and let his shoulders fall. "You killed my wife, but I'll learn to live without her. You'll always be a spineless ass."

Everything moved so fast. Too fast. All Arthur needed to see was Peter Browning's hand disappear behind him. Seeing his chance, seeing the threat towards Cobb, Arthur grabbed the gun that was tucked into his waistband far quicker than Browning had done. Swinging his arm around, he pulled the tigger. The shot rang out and hit where Arthur was aiming exactly. In the chest, right where the heart was. At least, he hoped Browing had a heart, and not a black hole like he was rumoured to have. Browning looked down and blinked, wavering on his feet for a second or two, before falling and hitting the ground with a thud that was all too familiar.

Arthur's arm remained in the air, his grip around the gun remaining tight. His jaw was set, his breath coming out in small hitches as he watched Fischer's eyes flicker to the body.

"...Uncle Peter?" he asked, his voice incredibly quiet. He looked up at Arthur, then back to the body. Arthur. Body. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Fischer let out a small gasping sound, and let his gun slip from his hand and fall down by his feet, followed by the rest of his form. Fischer fell to his knees and hovered over Browning's now still body, his hands shaking.

"...No..no!..." He reached down and pulled on the crisp lapels of Browning's suit, yanking his body up, desperately trying to get some movement. "Come back!" he snapped, his eyes brimming with unshed tears. After a moment, Arthur let his arm fall with the realisation of what he'd just done. Everything was silent except for the almost frantic breathing of a distressed Fischer. The young man looked up at Arthur, emotions flickering across his icy blue eyes. Sadness. Fear. **Anger.**

"He's gone," he muttered. "...You killed him. You..." Fischer's eyes suddenly narrowed as he pulled himself up from the ground, stumbling on the flat land. "You bastard," he spat towards Arthur.

"You think you can get away with this? Murdering the only family I have left?" For those few moments, Fischer's face was a painting of hatred and bitterness, his hands furiously shaking. "I'm going to make sure your world is as empty as mine now is."

Blinking, Arthur mindlessly watched Fischer bend down and grab his gun, all in the space of a few seconds. Turning, he reached out and grabbed the thick, brown hair of Ariadne, who yelped in pain at the forceful tugging.

"Arthur!" she pleaded, her voice a pattern of fear and desperation.

It all clicked suddenly for Arthur, who's face contorted into pure fear.

He lunged forward and cried out,"No! Ari-"

In no less than the blink of an eye, a second shot rang out, and the sickening sound of a body hitting the floor echoed in Arthur's ears.

For a moment, everything went silent.

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**Please drop a review by if you have a spare moment. Thanks for reading!**


	28. Chapter 28

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION.**

**Little nervous about posting this, so thanks for reading! Special thanks to Lazarus76 and ELi Shikiyori for helping me with the development and review of this chapter. Please, please review if you have a spare minute. It means a lot to hear your comments.**

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Arthur didn't want to look.

He was terrified of what he might see. But he couldn't tear his eyes away.

He was the first one to see her petite body hit the ground.

"...Ariad-"

A second gunshot rang from behind him. Hearing a grunt, Arthur looked up, just to see Fischer's hands fly to his chest before he fell backwards, hitting the ground with a harder thump.

Arthur couldn't move. Paralysed in fear, he could only hear the movement behind him.

"Listen to me." He heard Cobb's strong voice speak from behind him. "You have ten seconds to run. Work for any of the Fischer family again, and we will find you. Get out of our streets, and you won't have any problems."

Sounds of frantic footsteps errupted from in front, Fischer's men running. Running away. Pure cowards, only relying on their master for commands. Now their boss was dead, it would be pure chaos. When the footsteps died down, Arthur could hear Cobb behind him whisper to Eames, just loud enough for him to hear.

"...Kill them."

There was a hesitant pause from Eames, seeing Arthur's frozen form. Regaining himself, Arthur heard him command the others to follow him. He saw their figures running past him, a faint blur of colours running past. It wouldn't be long before gunshots were echoing in the air.

Arthur's hands began shaking. Furiously snapping himself from his daze, he ran towards the two bodies, skidding to the ground and landing on his knees, the mud and damp grass staining his clothing.

It was bad. He knew that even before he'd had a close look at her. But the think, red liquid quickly spreading across the large hole of torn fabric in her dress confirmed his fears. Her eyes were shut, but he could hear her quickened breaths, her gentle gasps of pain. He reached down and as gently as he could, grasped her torso, lifting her up onto his lap, where he began to cradle her weak body.

"Look at me. Ariadne, look at me," he demanded. His voice was breaking, shaking uncontrollably.

Slowly but surely, Ariadne began to open her eyes, her eyelashes fluttering and her lips parting just slightly.

"Arthur," she breathed, catching her eyes with his. Her beautiful brown eyes were tinted with fear.

He nodded, his eyes scraping up and down her body, desperately avoiding the mangled, disgusting, fearful sight of the gunshot wound. "I'm here. _Fuck_, I'm sorry-"

A sharp gasp of pain escaped her trembling lips as she looked down, her eyes narrowed. "_Shit_."

"Don't look," he instructed, gently holding her neck with his hand, trying to support her. "Don't worry. Don't panic, we'll get you to a hospital." He began rambling, his voice the only source of help he could find. "Everything will be okay-"

"-Arthur-" she breathed.

"You'll be fine." He reached down and gently brushed her skin to evaluate the damage. It was a move he instantly regretted, as soon as he touched her wound, a small hiss escaped her lips. He pulled away quickly, a large feeling of helplessness wash through him.

Ariadne shook her head, her breathing quickly becoming laboured. "Arthur. Don't, really. It's-"

"No!" he suddenly snapped, his expression angry. "I brought this on you. This happened because of me, and I'm going to fix it."

She shook her head, weakly. "I... I brought this on myself, Arthur. I deserve...this."

"No, you don't," Arthur replied, barely leaving a second between their voices. He knew, as much as he wanted to deny it, that time was short. "You do not deserve this. Fischer deserved this, but _you _don't."

"It...really...hurts," she gasped, her hand quickly flying to the blood covered fabric.

Arthur frowned, knowing gunshot wounds too well. Knowing that there was nothing he could do for her. "I know." Grabbing her hand, he let her squeeze it as tightly as she wanted, understanding the pain she was in would be excruciating.

"I need to find someone to help-" he said, his head snapping up. It was pointless, he knew, but his eyes searched the area, still determined to find a way to help her. A weak tug on his sleeve forced him to look down, where Ariadne's hand grasped the material.

Her expression was gentle, calm almost. "...Don't," she assured. "It's okay."

Anger quickly spread throughout his form, unable to understand how calm she was. How accepting she was. "How can you be giving up so easily?" he spat. "Doesn't it matter that you're _leaving me_?" He didn't mean to be so blunt, so careless in his words. But his mind was too busy to organise his words to his thoughts.

Her gaze softened. "It's alright, Arthur," she said, softly. "There's nothing to do."

Slumping slightly, Arthur grew quiet. Swallowing, he cradled her body tighter to himself. "...I don't know what I can do to help you," he admitted, hateful of how weak and useless he sounded.

"...You don't have to do anything."

_Arthur lay on his back, staring down at the figure on his chest, who was tracing small patterns on his skin absentmindedly. He couldn't believe it. Couldn't believe how he'd been so lucky to find her. The small things they shared together. Laughter, kisses, even silence were all reminders of how drab and hateful his world had been before she'd entered it._

_"Tell me about your childhood."_

_"It's nothing interesting," she replied, simply shrugging off the subject._

_"I'm sure that's not true," he assured, running his hand softly down the bare of her back. "Regardless, I'd love to hear."_

_"Well..." She rolled onto her side, propping her head up onto her hand. Arthur watched in fascination, the way she moved, the way she spoke. Everything mesmerized him."I was born in Seattle. It was me, my Dad, and my two younger brothers. Darren and Peter."_

_"Where was your Mom?"_

_"She left after Peter was born."_

_"I'm sorry."_

_"Don't be. Honestly, I think we were better off without him." A deep sigh errupted from her chest. "Anyway, my Dad always wanted me to be a teacher." From the way her small nose suddenly crinkled in disgust, Arthur could tell her dislike for the idea was quite strong. A small, amused grin spread on his face. She continued, unaware of his reaction."But I was really set on being a painter. I loved art. I attended some classes, and you know what?" A quiet moment was shared before she spoke again, a little smaller than before. "...I was good. I enjoyed it. Darren always wanted to be a Doctor."_

_"What about Peter?" Arthur asked, his genuine interest leading the subject._

_"Dentist. Seriously. Of all the 'effing jobs you can get, he wanted to be a dentist." She shook her head, her expression a picture of astonishment. "Crazy. Anyway, I suppose that's a little irrelevant. Things were good for a while, we were...happy."_

_The way her face fell told Arthur that the tale was beginning to turn, probably to places she didn't want it to. Reaching out, he grabbed her hand, gently entwining his fingers with hers. "...What happened?"_

_"When I was around seventeen, my Mom showed up. She was really angry. Started saying all this stuff about how we were her kids too, and she deserved us. I knew Dad couldn't fight her case, so I ran. Tried to get Darren and Peter to come with me, but they refused. So I left and came to the city. But money was hard to get and..." She turned her head and caught his eyes. "...I guess you know the rest."_

_"You don't know what happened to them?"_

_She shook her head. "No. I don't regret leaving, though. I think...I think it was better to leave a good life early, than to let it turn into a bad one. Am I a coward? Probably. But I never wanted to see my family unhappy."_

_"I don't think you're a coward. People have to fight for themselves, Ariadne. We can't control that." He tilted his head up, staring at the ceiling. "I'll never know why Cobb chose his fate with Fischer. But I do know he'll never stop until he's finished."_

_Ariadne paused, before asking the question that Arthur had been dreading. "What about you? What about your childhood."_

_"It was nice while it lasted." Seeing the confusion in her narrowed eyes, Arthur explained sadly. "My family died in a car crash when I was eight."_

_Allowing it to sink in, Arthur waited a moment before Ariadne spoke. "Oh Arthur," she breathed. "I'm sorry."_

_"It's okay. It couldn't be stopped." Inhaling a deep breath, Arthur shut his eyes, the vivid images flashing in his head. "My Mom, Dad, baby brother and I were on our way back from dinner. We were celebrating my father's promotion at work. We collided with an oncoming runaway cab. Unavoidable." He opened his eyes once more, the light gentle enough not to blind him. "The only reason I survived is because I was thrown from the car."_

_"Do you think about it a lot?" Ariadne asked, her voice quiet. Unsure._

_"Not anymore. I used to. I used to have nightmares." He turned his head, catching her eyes again. Seeing the sudden sorrow and sympathy she was gazing at him with, he offered her a small smile, never allowing it to fully reach his eyes. "I try not to remember their deaths. I try to remember their lives. The only rememberence of the accident are a few scars."_

_Ariadne was silent for a moment, her eyes roaming his face. "...Can I see?"_

_Nodding, Arthur didn't say a word. He simply rolled onto his front, and let his head fall onto his arms, exposing his long remembered scar. A large, ugly angled line ran from the top of his neck down to just under his shoulder. Just out of his sight, but not out of mind. Not yet. He watched Ariadne's light hand reach over, gently running the tips of her fingers over the nape of his neck._

_"What are these from?" she asked, her voice quiet._

_"Glass. Probably broken metal," he softly replied. "I used to have some burns, but they've pretty much faded."_

_"Oh." She gently ran her fingers over the dark line, a movement so gentle, so sincere, Arthur let his eye lids slowly fall until they were closed. Completely focused on Ariadne's touch. Nobody knew about the accident or the scars, not even Cobb. Arthur knew that Ariadne would probably never understand why he'd never told anyone about it before her, but it didn't matter. All that mattered was that she did. Each and every secret, memory and sadness he had, he was willing to pour out to her, something that he would never do to anyone else. He felt her hand move across his neck, a warm feeling spreading down his spine. Moving her fingers over the broken skin, she leaned over and softly kissed the end of the scar, her lips tracing the line lightly in a ghost of a kiss. Arthur lazily smiled and opened his eyes, only to become confused at the image before him. A few small tears had made their way onto Ariadne's cheek as she bit her lip, anxiously._

_"Why are you crying?" he asked, his brow furrowing in a mixture of curiousity and concern._

_Ariadne sniffed and quickly wiped away her moist cheeks. "It's just...I don't get it. How can someone who's been through as much as you...still be you?"_

_Arthur pushed himself up from the mattress and quickly wrapped his arms around her petite shoulders, allowing her small body to mould into his in a sad slump._

_He spoke gently. "I'm not the person who killed my family." He kissed her cheek lightly. "You're not your Mom. We're our own people. Despite what we've seen or done, we can't let that form us. It wouldn't be right. We have our own lives, and we'll have our own futures."_

_Pulling away, Ariadne's eyes flickered toward his, her cheeks now wet with moisture. It was an awful sight to Arthur, but a her pretty eyes simply shone even more with the tears brimming. She whispered softly, "Maybe...we could be part of each other's future."_

_He had to restrain himself from telling her that's exactly what he wanted. He simply nodded, tracing her tears with the end of his thumb. "I hope that's a possibility." He leaned in to kiss her once more, catching her lips and letting his hands return to her hips, pulling her closer to him. _

_"...I...love...you...so...much," he whispered into her lips between kisses._

_He could feel her smiling into his mouth as they both disappeared under the sheets for the second time that night, not to surface until they had gained spent bodies and a reason to sleep._

"This isn't fair." His voice was bitter, his eyes angry. "Neither of us did anything wrong."

"It's okay," she said, gently. Her face growing pale. "You'll be fine."

He shook his head, completely stubborn. "No, I won't. The past few days with you have been more bearable than any other time in the past several years."

Ariadne's eyes narrowed, confusion lacing her expression. Her breaths becoming more shallow by the second. "Doesn't it...bother you...that part...of it was...a lie?"

"No," he said, complete honesty filling his every fibre. "No, it doesn't."

In the distance, more gunshots could be heard. Arthur felt Ariadne's body tense at the sound. He pulled her into him, holding her, comforting her.

Ariadne bit her bottom lip, her eyes quickly squeezing shut in another wave of pain. "I really am sor-"

"Don't," he said, not wanting her breaths to be wasted on unwanted apologies. He didn't care, not at that moment. He wanted her to live, not to feel guilty for what she was forced into. "I know," he assured, tracing a light thumb down her cheek. "You're so brave."

Arthur bit into his tongue, so hard that he could taste the metallic blood in his mouth. It was cold, freezing almost, but Arthur couldn't feel it. He began to feel numb, blunt with the realisation of what was happening. He was losing her.

"I love you, you know," he managed to bite out.

Ariadne let a weak smile trace her face. "I know. I love you, too."

A sudden breath errupted from her chest, her eyes squeezing shut in pain. Arthur grasped her tightly, hushing her gently.

"It's okay. Just hold on a little bit longer, for me."

He knew she couldn't hold on. It was a stupid, selfish thing to ask. A few moments later, barely just a few seconds had passed before her breaths slowed. He caught her eyes, both sets meeting in a wanting gaze. She looked at him, an almost sympathetic look upon her face before she broke away, her shoulders gently falling.

Her eyes slowly slipped shut and her last breath floated from her body, allowing the silence to settle between the two. It was a moment or so before Arthur realised that she had gone.

He blinked, his arms tightening around her body. His chest began to hurt.

"No no no no..." He began mumbling mindlessly. "Come back to me. Please. _Please,_" he pleaded, unashamed of how weak he sounded. A sharp stinging sensation started at the back of his eyes.

She had gone. Her lovely, beautiful mind had slipped away, leaving nothing but the shell of somebody he'd loved. Arthur looked down at his hands, gripping the cold skin of her arms, shaking furiously.

A large, firey feeling errupted in his throat, as tears began prickling in his eyes. Never in his life had he felt more helpless, more angry, more useless. Knowing there was nothing he could now do. Nothing. She was gone, and that was it. The realisation stabbed him in the chest so suddenly, that he thought he might fall back.

"Ariadne? Wake up," he demanded, his voice weak. Perhaps she would open her eyes and begin breathing again. Maybe there was a chance that she wasn't dead, just sleeping. Dreaming. The more he wanted her to wake up, the quieter she seemed to be. Annoyance quickly began pulsing through his veins at the fact she wasn't waking. "Wake. up," he repeated, just short of spitting. Why wouldn't she wake for him? Did she not think he loved her enough? It was his fault after all, he couldn't save her. "Get up, damn it!" he snapped. "Ariadne, wake-"

He grew silent. His voice cracked at the last moment, the lump in his throat finally taking hold. His eyes, now brimming with unshed tears, began to ripple and fall. Opening his mouth to speak, he found the only sound that came out was a small whimper, a weak groan deep from his chest.

Arthur couldn't even deny it. Not now that he was holding her empty body in his arms, now limp and lifeless.

Hearing footsteps behind him, Arthur's shoulders tensed, ready to coil.

"Arthur?" Cobb's voice asked from above him. Arthur said nothing. Cobb kneeled down and placed a light hand on Arthur's shoulder. "Art...we need to go..." He looked at the younger man, who did nothing but clutch the body protectively and bury his face into her hair. Cobb sighed heavily. "Arthur, there's nothing you can do. We have to leave-"

Arthur's head snapped towards him, his eyes filled with hate, glaring at Cobb. "Fuck you, Dom! Fuck all of you! Just leave me alone!" he yelled, his voice breaking.

Cobb said nothing. Understanding. He rose from the ground, gave Arthur one last nod, and turned. Walking away, he didn't say anything, not a word. He simply walked towards the car, leaving Arthur in the once again bitter silence.

He turned his attention to Ariadne's quiet body once more, several beads of tears rolling down his face. Another cry surfaced, as he moaned in sorrow at the pale form. "...I'm so sorry..." He sobbed. "...So sorry..." Leaning down, he pressed his lips against hers, lingering for the smallest of moments. His lips were trembling, and the taste of his tears was evident. He pulled away, and grasped her hand tightly, not caring that his hands were shaking, or that his shirt was now stained red with blood. To Arthur, nothing else seemed to matter. "I loved you," he whispered. "I really loved you."

It hurt. A dull ache in the stomach. that seemed to get worse with every passing second. Arthur had never understood the pain that Cobb had experienced, but now he knew more than he wanted to. It was like an empty tin inside his chest, running on a dim beat that was slowly shutting down. It hurt his heart, because that's where he kept her.


	29. Chapter 29

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INCEPTION.**

**Epilogue to follow.**

* * *

Arthur didn't move from his spot. Not even when he heard the distant gunshots fade away, or when he began to hear police sirens at the other end of town. He clung to her, enveloping her limp body in sobs. He wasn't sure how long he was there for, but he didn't move. Couldn't move. Like he was chained to the ground. He knew he couldn't leave her. He stayed, until his eyes were dry and there were no more tears to produce. Until his throat was raw and painful, and he could no longer speak or scream. But still, he didn't move. Not even when he felt his eyes begin to fall, and his shoulders begin to weaken. His hands still weaved through her hair as he felt himself fall forward, and his eyes cloud him into black. He could only summon the strength to whisper-

_"Ariadne."_

He wasn't sure who moved him. Could have been Cobb, or Eames, or any of the others. He awoke in a hotel room, surrounded by the pitch black, his body surrounded in the soft fabric of the sheets. He looked down, seeing that his hands were still in fists. But she wasn't there. Whoever had moved him had obviously dealt with the body as well. He was thankful for the darkness of the room. He rolled over, letting his face fall into the pillow. Quiet moaning and wails errupted from him as the memory of the night hit him like a train. He wept until he felt the pillow was damp with salty tears, then he turned it over and began sobbing into the dry side.

He had done this. He had lost her. If he hadn't of been so careless, or damned thoughtless, she would be somewhere else, alive and well and he would be lonely. The way it should have been. She had betrayed him, yes, but not out of choice. She wouldn't do that- she loved him.

It became a vicious cycle. He awoke in the dark, remembered why he was there, sobbed until he couldn't anymore, yelled and cursed into the mattress until he could no longer speak, fell asleep, then woke up again. Never ending. There was that sweet moment, those rare few seconds where the woke up in complete black, and could not for the life of him remember why he was there. Complete blank, until he remembered. It only lasted a few seconds, before the routine started all over again.

The thought had crossed his mind, once or twice. But he had to swallow it down, he couldn't think of it. It would be so easy. He was sure that whoever had taken him there, had neglected to remove the gun from his jacket. According to his calculation, he should have three bullets left. But he would need only one. Just one. Then maybe he could find some peace and remove the welling pain inside his chest. But no, he could never. She wouldn't have wanted that. In fact, she would have been appalled by the idea, and damn it, he would not die from Robert Fischer's doing. So the thought pushed to the back of his mind, leaving him once again with nothing but images on repeat.

He wasn't sure how long he was in there for, could have been a night, could have been two days. Time seemed pointless, and meaningless. But eventually the realisation came to him.

He could not stay.

If he remained in this room, he would not eat, or drink, or leave the bed. He needed to get out. He needed to find Cobb. He had something to say, something that could not wait.

It took him half an hour to summon up the strength and will to finally move. He rolled over, and pushed himself up from the mattress, until he found himself sitting on the side of the bed. His vision felt blurry, and his mouth tasted dry. After a minute or two, he pushed himself up until he stood, hovering above the bed. His torso swayed slightly as he began walking. His days in the darkness had made him weak.

Looking down, he swallowed as a small choke escaped from his lips. He was still wearing his clothes. His shirt, once a crisp, clean white was now crinkled, and tainted a shocking red. Her blood. That wouldn't do.

He reached down and slowly began unbuttoning the shirt, stripping himself of the sickening sweet smell of blood. He held the fabric in his hands, running his fingers along the stained material. She had been in pain, and he was unable to help her.

A wave of sickness washed over him. He ran into the bathroom and threw the clothing on the ground, letting himself fall to his knees by the toilet seat. He gagged as the contents of his stomach emptied. But since he hadn't eaten in a while, it wasn't long before he could taste nothing but bile, and eventually, he collapsed on the ground.

The cold tiles of the floor felt nice against his skin. Cooling, refreshing. Pushing himself from the ground, he grabbed the shirt once more and stood over the sink. He could look at it no longer. The tap water ran warmly across his hands as he began scrubbing the materal. Watching the pink tainted water wash down the drain, he realised that this was in fact the last thing he had of her.

* * *

Arthur walked to the warehouse. It was a long walk, and he must have looked like a wreck to any passer-by, but there was no way he could drive. He could barely steady himself enough to dress himself again.

When he arrived, he didn't stop. He didn't even pause as he walked up to the building. He knew that if he did, then he would never have a hope of making it in. All he had to do was go in, talk to Cobb, and get out again. As soon as possible.

He pushed the door open, finding the interior surprisingly empty. The only person there was Eames, who was leaning against a desk top, biting the bottom of his lip tightly. Arthur saw that Eames looked oddly tired, and prominant dark bags under his eyes revealed that he probably hadn't had any sleep in a while. The man looked troubled.

Arthur gave a small cough. Eames looked up, his eyes suddenly snapping back from a previous daze. Seeing Arthur, his shoulders straightened and his face grew hard.

"Hello."

Arthur didn't want pleasantries. Not today. He kept his head up, and managed to hold eye contact with the man in front of him, with no other intentions apart from getting straight to the point.

"Is Cobb here?" he asked, sounding more demanding than he intended. He swallowed, ordering his body to relax and his mind to remain in control.

Eames could sense his discomfort, and spoke very gently to the younger man. "Stepped out with the rest for a quick patrol. Just making sure Fischer's gang got the message."

"I doubt that they wouldn't," Arthur replied, his face set into a grim stare, his lips quickly spreading into a thin, white line. "Who moved me into that hotel?"

"I did."

Arthur grimaced. "Where is her-"

"I took care of it." Seeing the uncertainty and distraught look in Arthur's eyes, Eames sighed heavily. "Don't worry, I dealt with it carefully. I put her-"

Arthur held his hand up, silencing the other man. On second thought, he didn't want to know, knowing that if he did, he would no doubt want to see her body once more, and if he did, then it's back to the bed and into the darkness of the sheets for him. He could feel his protective wall around him slowly breaking down as he felt more and more unwelcome and uncomfortable in the warehouse.

Eames gave him a sympathetic look, tilting his head to the side. "How are you?" he asked gently.

Arthur didn't like the question. He didn't know how he could answer without breaking down and burst into broken sobs once more. So he swallowed, keeping his gaze just slightly next to Eames, realising that he couldn't look him in the eye. "When will Cobb be back?"

Eames shrugged lightly in return. "Not sure."

Arthur didn't want to hang around. He nodded, understanding that he would have to do without a formal goodbye. It was probably easier that way, and Arthur felt a little bit of weight being lifted from his shoulders. "Right. Well can you tell him-" He paused. What could he say that wouldn't invite too many questions? There was nothing. He sighed, allowing himself to grow quiet. "- That I was just coming to say goodbye."

Eames didn't respond right away. He simply gave him a quick nod, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a cigarette, and a box of matches. "Where are you off to, then?" he asked, striking a match that quickly turned into a small flame. Arthur watched in silence as Eames lit the cigarette and brought it to his lips, inhaling a deep lungful.

Realising that it was his turn to speak, Arthur turned his head down to the ground. "I can't stay. I have nothing left to do." He sighed, his shoulders falling. "My job was done as soon as Cobb fired that bullet towards Fischer."

"You're leaving the city?" Eames asked, breathing out a cloud of smoke.

"Most likely. I see no reason why I should stay."

Eames gave a deep chuckle, shaking his head from side to side, before bringing the cigarette back up to his lips. "I knew it," he said to himself, finding more amusement in the idea that Arthur couldn't understand. He looked at the younger man, before giving him a careless shrug. "From the moment I met you, Arthur, I knew that you didn't belong here. I knew you'd be the first to go."

Arthur wasn't sure whether that was intended as an insult, but knowing Eames, it probably was. Instant reaction forced him to retort in defence. "Because I'm weak?" he asked, placing a hand into his pocket.

Eames shook his head. "Not at all. Because you're strong enough to know when to leave."

Silence fell between the two. Eames exhaled another smokey breath before turning his back on Arthur, seeming to draw his attention to a briefcase on the table. "Well listen, send me a postcard from wherever you end up. I'll let Cobb know," he said.

Arthur gave him a small smirk, knowing that it was time for him to leave. Eames never gave anyone his attention for too long. "Thanks," he said quietly, before turning his own back and beginning to wonder towards the door.

"Hey, Arthur."

Arthur turned and caught Eames' eyes once more. The older man was staring at him, with an expression Arthur couldn't quite place. It wasn't the playful smirk he normally recieved, neither was it an absent glare from an insulting remark. No, this was sympathy, understanding, and pity all rolled into one.

"I really am sorry. For...you know," he mumbled, his voice just loud enough for Arthur to hear. "She was lovely." Eames sounded so sincere, that Arthur couldn't dismiss him. It actually felt rather nice to recieve a small amount of pity from him. Eames then went on to furrow his brow, in a look of concern that Arthur hadn't recieved in years. "I hope that this doesn't turn you into something you're not."

Unknowing and confused, Arthur simply gave him the smallest of nods before turning his back and resuming his exit. He mumbled under his breath, "Good luck, Eames."

"You too, mate." Was the last thing he heard.

Arthur didn't plan on leaving without an actual goodbye from Cobb. But a word from Eames would be better than nothing, and he sure as hell wasn't waiting for the rest of the team. No, he didn't want an overflow of sad glances and gentle words for the rest of the day. Cobb would understand. He knew grief better than anyone.

Arthur would miss him, no doubt about that. But he would miss the old Cobb. The Dominic Cobb that loved the city, and took pride in his friends and loved ones. When he was happy with Mal, and things like guns and death and loss were not a part of their lives, and nobody ever considered that they would be. When Arthur didn't have Ariadne, but at least he wasn't as lonely. There was still hope for him, and he still had faith in the fact that he might have a future someday.

He felt a slight relief. Saying goodbye to Cobb would have been harder. He probably would have been less accepting than Eames, or would have asked more questions, maybe even would have tried to pursuade him to stay. Besides, he owed Eames a proper goodbye, considering he owed him more times than he could count. He'd hoped a simple goodbye would be enough to pay it all back.

* * *

Paris was something else. The people were different. Arthur felt homesick when he'd first arrived, feeling like a fish out of water in the strange, dazzling city. But knowing that he promised Ariadne that they would go was enough to prevent him from going straight back to New York. The City of Lights was beautiful, and Arthur quickly had escaped all fear of being there. He'd always found adjusting easy, adapting himself to the city like he'd been there for years.

The people were sophisticated, cultured. He felt like he could fit in. He was only planning on staying for a few weeks, but before he knew it, he was in the process of renting an apartment and planning a life there. It had drawn him in, the magnificent architecture, the art, the food, the music, it was all too much.

And the whole time, he couldn't stop thinking of how much Ariadne would have loved it.


End file.
